Super Recognizers

 

I noticed long ago quite a few things about me that I erstwhile considered very bizarre. Gladly, pushing for enlightenment has helped in reading meaning to some of them. One of these is the ability to recognize faces that I have only seen briefly before, or have undergone substantial changes in appearance. Frankly, I didn't see it as something that transcends the ordinary. I just watch it spontaneously find expression in me, more or less like a flashback; even to my amazement most times. I've never read or heard anyone talk about it before, neither have I researched into it until yesterday; and what I found was revealing.

Someone had sent me a friend request on Facebook; and on checking her profile, I could easily recognize her face. We were once Sunday School teachers at my parent church some years ago in my hometown. I accepted her request and we exchanged pleasantries, only for her to tell me that I look familiar but she can't place my face. Arrghh! I was stupefied. From when to when... not that I did plastic surgery. So I conceived I needed to tell her I recognized her quite well, which could be as a result of my ability to recognize faces. However, I wanted a name for this phenomenon, which I wasn't sure existed. As a consequence, I tried different search keywords on Google and tadar... I found it! People with this ability are called "Super-Recognizers". 

That was my first encounter with the word/name. Psychologists described it as an extraordinary skill possessed by the "super-recognizers" which empower them to recognize someone they met in passing, even many years later. While it is easy to recognize the faces of our family and friends, Psychologists say the recognition or matching of unfamiliar faces is a very difficult task for typical people but not the super-recognizers. I read about the science behind this, and why the "super-recognizers", myself inclusive, could pull off something very difficult for an ordinary or typical person. 

This ability is so pronounced and expressed in me that I get disoriented failing to quickly place someone's face. And the only panacea is to just recognize where I have met the person. Maybe that's why I detest staying in crowded places or the facade. It affects me. Is like I'm trying to plaster their faces in my brain. Even if I didn't speak to the person, or have significant interaction; I can remember the less significant people. Incidentally, I make bold to allude this helps me in learning. I can easily remember where I first heard some words or statements; who said it; when; and how. I think this can also explain why I find it easy to find my way in uncharted territory and visualize places where I have only been once. I seldomly mull over this and call myself a "pathfinder" 😁😁

It will interest you to know that the London's Metropolitan Police have created a super-recognizer unit that is used to spot criminals in a crowd or within CCTV footage, and these officers helped identify numerous perpetrators in the 2011 London riots. These skills have been designated to be useful in policing and security. Little wonder, I always fantasize about being a police officer, of the secret service per se, where I can deploy these skills, together with another special ability [which I'm not ready to disclose] to identify and nab perpetrators in bringing them to justice.

By and large, I didn't know it was a thing to have super recognition. I thought everyone could do it. One article calls it SUPERPOWER. So it's permissive to say I have a superpower. The reason why I'm joining the "Avengers" in no distant time.😂😂😂 This time, it'll be a war against insurgency and banditry in North-East Nigeria. Boko Haram ifyaf die.

I leave you with this: "When you know others you become wise. When you know yourself you become enlightened"