Total Aphant With Inhuman Facial Recall Abilities

I’ve had aphantasia since birth. I cannot imagine any of the five senses. I also have amazing facial recognition so this is strange reading this lol.

The studies on the correlation between aphantasia and prosopagnosia (difficulty recognizing faces) are a bit mixed. But even those studies that indicate a good degree of correlation do not show that everyone with aphantasia also has difficulty with face recognition.

The mind is a complex thing, and it may be that you have a better than average ability to map the spatial relationships between facial features and save that information in a retrievable form, linked together with the name and the circumstances in which you met. Perhaps that would explain why you were able to surmise that a stranger might be related to someone you knew. Or maybe there’s something else going on in your brain that would explain why you “never forget a face.” There are mental phenomena that are often attributed to the ability to visualize, but people with aphantasia can often perform the same tasks, probably by using a different mental “strategy.”

I learned to recognize and name people out of spite! I worked at a place that rented out rooms (I know there is a specific name for these places but it escapes me) – we rented to EST groups (Ehrhart Seminar Training – a ’70s human potential thingy). They all wore name tags so I taught myself to remember and use their names even though they didn’t have their badges on and they always checked to see if they had their badges on. Otherwise, I do not retain people’s name well.

I am awful at faces and names. I often get confused between people who share similar characteristics

This is the same for me. I’m 66 years old and just discovered what I always called My Blind Mind’s Eye. My wife couldn’t fathom it. I can finally introduce her to my tribe.
Anyway, I also have five-sense aphantasia. I can’t recall images, smells, sounds, or tastes. I rarely recall a dream, and when I do, it’s narrated. However, I never forget a face, and I classify people’s faces into what I call “Molds,” where I say that person is in that person’s facial mold. Often, people don’t see it at first. Then, the resemblance reveals itself. Once seen, it can’t be unseen. Names, not so much, but that’s probably because I don’t care enough.

Wow interesting! While I don’t have that level of recognition, I do seem to be able to spot celebrities before anyone else does. On several occasions and in different circumstances, I’ve been out and about with others and I’ll go “Oh look, I think that’s so-and-so!” and everyone else I’m with (despite them having the same opportunity to spot them) will be surprised I spotted them with their shades, hat on or whatever.

I can only assume that the information about how somebody looks – the “raw data” if you like – is somehow stored in a way that I can match it up to what I see quicker than those who process that data through a visual “stage” in their minds perhaps?

I wouldn’t say I’m great at faces, or bad. Probably average. But I do remember things I pay specific attention to. I can’t visualize it, but I can often remember it better than people who do visualize. I think because their ability to visualize can distort their memory, where as my memory is just that, a file in a database or something. Perhaps your process with facial recognition is similar. I’m assuming you can’t visualize their faces, but their face is probably stored in your brain and because it’s not distorted by visualizing them, you have a keener recognition of them.