People who pretend they don't know you.

Prosopagnosia, is more common than people realise. DD has it and was recrutied to be part of a research study some years ago.

I do not think I have it, but I am very bad at recognising people in photographs and I am completely bemused by people who recognise famous people when they are in a shop or walking down the road. if the King was walking round my local Lidl when I was shopping, I wouldn't know him from Adam and would be bewildred why other people were stopping and pointing and nudging.

There have been several occasions where someone has spoken to me in a place where I’ve never seen them before and I’ve had to ask them who they are .

Well , I'm so glad this doesn't just happen to me . I see so many of the Mums I used to chat to in the school playground , albeit 30 odd years ago , and quite a few look straight through me . I don't think I've changed that much , I certainly recognise them lol . Some see me and look away , it's very awkward . I can't understand it , ive given up now , which is a shame . I call it Pretending not to know you syndrome . It would be lovely to stop and chat and find out how their children were getting on . All very strange 😕

I once had my face slapped by a girl in a wheelchair for staring at her. We were doing the crossword while having coffee and I must have been gazing into the distance, thinking about a clue. Next thing I know this woman is yelling at me for staring at her and slapped me - quite hard too. I was so shocked at the suddenness of it all I didn't even say anything - just stared at her. DH pushed her away and a few people came over to calm her down but she shrieked 'Haven't you ever seen anyone in a wheelchair before?' After fighting off all the hands holding her back she whizzed off out of the door and just left us all stunned. I just looked at DH and said 'Who the hell was that?? Where did she come from??' My cheek was stinging and red but in the end I had to laugh because it was all so unlikely, like someone was acting out a play and didn't know I wasn't a character in it. I try to be careful now to stare at people 🥵

At a quiz I got annoyed by a man who kept staring at me. I complained to his friend and he laughed. It turned out they were both blind.

My brother once had 2 secretaries. He said he couldn’t tell one from the other. But one was a white woman and the other one was black!

www.faceblind.org gives more information about Prosopagnosia.
It's thought 1-2% of the population have face blindness to varying degrees.
Some well known people with prosipagnosia are
Duncan Bannatyne, Businessman
Stephen Fry, British Actor
Jane Goodall Anthropologist
Joanna Lumley, British Actor
Emily Maitlis, Journalist & TV presenter
Brad Pitt, American Actor
Oliver Sacks, Neurologist & Writer
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder

Sometimes people can be going through traumatic events such as grief or illness and just managing to hold it together. Having a conversation can just be too much for them or they fear they may break down. I tend to give people this benefit of the doubt if I’m ignored.

Another condition which must be as frustrating was described in an article by Dominic Lawson; he has no 'mind's eye'. He could tell you that his wife was pretty and had long hair, because he has learned that, but he cannot see her in his mind's eye. That must be quite a depressing thing to have - you cannot recall any beautiful sights, or faces of departed loved ones, unless you look at a photo.

I walk head up but look around and if I see someone I know, I do look at them, usually a glance but keep walking unless it's obvious a chinwag is wanted. (Was in town a month or so ago, 'are you going to ignore me?) I was asked. I stopped and realised I'd walked straight past a lady I speak to once a month in the pharmacy, she said I was miles away. We had a good gossip for about 10 minutes.

Many years ago, I was crossing a road, an unpleasant relative was also crossing, we met in the middle, she took one look at me, turned around and walked quickly away. "Good morning *** " I said. She stopped, turned around, fake smile, and said she didn't see me!

A few weeks later, saw her again at a wake, I was talking to another relative, she came, stood between us with her back at me. Fortunately the other relative had a few more manners and told her she was speaking to me.

Even now she's obnoxious! My dad calls her Veruca after Veruca Salt due to the "I want". It's the attitude of her, she's also about 58 though she tells those who don't know, she's late 40's! (Meaning she'd be younger than me!)

I put it down to manners. Acknowledgement won't cost anything.

I have so often had people speak to me, sometimes at length and I m desperately trying to remember who they are
Their faces don’t look at all familiar
I also have total blindness with directions unless I m very very familiar with the place it just never looks the same twice and I cannot see in my minds eye what it should look like I hate going anywhere new on my own as I m always unsure where I am or which way to go

LovesBach

Another condition which must be as frustrating was described in an article by Dominic Lawson; he has no 'mind's eye'. He could tell you that his wife was pretty and had long hair, because he has learned that, but he cannot see her in his mind's eye. That must be quite a depressing thing to have - you cannot recall any beautiful sights, or faces of departed loved ones, unless you look at a photo.

That's ,aphantasia I've never found it depressing as l don't know any different.

I have trouble recognising peoples faces so I rely on other details such as clothing or hair style. Women are especially difficult as hair and clothing style change more. I have particularly difficulty recognising people out of context- so yes I am likely not to recognise an old colleague when out shopping. ( I used to look at colleagues name badges to check I wasn’t mixing people up!) . When someone smiles at me I tend to smile back and see what happens next! Oddly enough once people speak to me - if it’s someone I should know - recognition usually occurs and of course their voice helps.
I once upset a neighbour who was unexpectedly working in a charity shop- and I just could not place her. She was very offended!.

I suffer from face blindness. I always had it, but it's only a few years ago I discovered it is an actual condition. I thought it was only me.

I've had chats with people on the street and walked away no wiser as to who they were. It's particularly bad if I meet people out of their usual place, or out of their work uniform. I'm sure some people think I'm just rude, but I'm not - honestly.

Another thing I can't manage is finding my way to a new place. I remember once having a new job a few miles from home, and I'm sure in the first month I must have travelled there by about six different routes. I couldn't manage to stick a route in my head. I'm the only person I know who can get completely lost with a SatNav.

It's awkward and embarrassing, but I've got used to it.

kircubbin2000
What happens if you say ‘Good morning’ to the former colleagues?

When I walk into town most people I pass say hello, and I say hello back, or vice versa, whether we know each other or not.

In my previous city if I saw someone I recognised it didn't mean I knew who they were. They might be someone I knew through a choir or a church or parents of a pupil I taught or used to teach.

I don’t think I am face blind, but something I discovered is that when turning the pages of a newspaper I don’t notice the photos, just the words. I have to really focus to take in the pictures.

OldFrill

LovesBach

Another condition which must be as frustrating was described in an article by Dominic Lawson; he has no 'mind's eye'. He could tell you that his wife was pretty and had long hair, because he has learned that, but he cannot see her in his mind's eye. That must be quite a depressing thing to have - you cannot recall any beautiful sights, or faces of departed loved ones, unless you look at a photo.

That's ,aphantasia I've never found it depressing as l don't know any different.

That's thought provoking, OldFrill; you cannot miss what you've never had.

Why always assume that if someone blanks you or always blanks you that that is what they are doing. Why not just assume that they have not seen you, vaguely recognise you but cannot think who you are or are just face blind. Why is your first reaction to assume they are being unpleasant and unfriendly?

In my case, it’s what they call nowadays “low self-esteem”, I suppose. My first thought would always be to think it was something that I had said or done. Not sure where it springs from, I just know that it does.

I discovered eventually that I've been guilty of this. But it was never deliberate. It's because I used to be too vain to wear my glasses. I've learnt better now.

I’ve walked past my OH before today 😂😂😂. Seriously, I didn’t see him, I was so engrossed in my own thoughts at the time.

I think, too, that sometimes, a person might not see or recognise someone when the occasion is not the norm, eg when shopping rather than the usual working environment.

As other posters have pointed out, there is, too, a condition known as face blindness that some people suffer from, and other, similar conditions.

As a mature student I worked in retail over the Christmas holidays. After hours on the till everything became automatic and I never really saw faces no matter how much I chatted and smiled. I once served DH and didn't know until he told me afterwards.

I blank people myself. The reason is, I don't do small talk, Esmay is absolutely correct. I find too many people just want to catch up on a bit of gossip.

Esmay: I was talking to an old friend yesterday and we both said that we are totally fed up with people , who actually have no interest in you , but can't resist a barrage of questions when they see you .
Just because they are curious !

I am another person who is terrible at recognising faces, and would recognise very few of my neighbours if I met them out and about. What really upsets ne us that my own mother doesn't understand it and thinks that it is a lack of interest on my part, but it isn't.

It is hugely embarrassing, and despite my many requests in the past to my husband NOT to bring people into our house (or anywhere else) and assume that i know who they are, he still does it sometimes. I am cringing now just thinking of some of the times this has happened.

Personally, I am more likely to recognise someone who other people might perhaps consider 'quirky' in some way that registers with me in a way that faces don't. When I say quirky, I just mean that there is something about them that stands out to me in a way that most people don't. It doesn't help me that so many women in particular have their hair cut, coloured and styled in a very similar way - men are slightly easier for me to recognise as they tend to be more natural, less 'cloned' than a lot of women.

I walk a lot, and there are people i can identify from afar by their posture and the way they walk, yet I would definitely not recognise them by face.
Similarly, I find voiceseasier to identify too, and am far more likely to recognise a voice on the phone, even if we have only spoken once before, than I am to recognise the same person if they were standing in front of me.
In fact, I once briefly encountered someone in Cheshire, on a canal boat, and six months later, this time in Worcester, I heard a voice in the distance and instantly knew it was the same person, but no way would I have recognised their face.

I think some people are just caught up in their own thoughts and whatever they are doing. I wouldn't take it personally.