I've had this problem my whole life and was delighted to read that neurologist and author Oliver Sacks has a severe case of it himself.

I recognize hairstyles, beards, voices, mannerisms, physiques, clothes, smell, the way people walk, facial expressions, body language and personal style. Faces all blur together. I have the most trouble recognizing blondes with even features. They all look the same to me. Actors and models who are considered extremely good looking all look plain to me because their faces have no definition in my eyes.

If I'm purposely looking into a mirror, I recognize myself, but not if I'm walking toward a mirror in a store, unless I recognize my clothing. I can recognize people I barely know if they're walking away from me. If I meet close friends face to face, I may not know them until they speak. This leads me to believe that faces confuse my brain a lot, otherwise, I'd be able to easily recognize people walking toward me, as well as away. But I can't.

In high school, people frequently called me rude, stuck up and conceited because I'd walk right by them without so much as a nod. My actions hurt their feelings and their words hurt mine. As a result, I started smiling and nodding and saying hello to anyone who looked at me with a neutral or friendly expression. If someone has a hostile look on their face or in their body language, I will give them space.

In the long run, my inability to recognize faces has probably enriched my life. I've acted friendlier toward others than I may have otherwise and other people have responded in kind. Because people tend to look the same to me, I didn't end up accepting or rejecting people because of their looks. Looks don't last forever; character does. Face blindness helped me look into people, rather than stopping at the surface. I have some friends who are generally considered to be not so attractive, physically. But they look just fine to me. They are really great people and good friends. In that way, face blindness made my life easier.

Getting right down to the nitty-gritty ... body language and smell probably hold a place of heightened importance to me. It's probably done a lot to keep me safe as I go around smiling at people I may or may not know.

In the pictures in the previous post ... I can't recognize those as the same faces. At all. It's hard for me to believe that anyone can see them as the same people. I just accept that face blindness is like color blindness. What I can't see others can and seeing that I've never been able to see it, I'm not missing anything.