Scientific proof that I am not a jerk

(For once, the subject title is surprisingly close to the content of the post.)

A few months ago, I received a letter.

I didn't think much of it at first, but after a few days I realized that it was the background information--not the parts which were important to the sender--that were interesting.

You see, I was born with congenital cataracts (cataracts that developed while I was still a fetus). I have only the vaguest recollection of this, but according to the letter, I was part of a study at McMaster University to determine what happens with vision development after the cataracts are removed.

According to this letter, the research I took part in found that people in my situation have "the ability to discriminate between large shapes like a circle and a cross, [and] to tell faces apart based on the shape of the chin or the mouth".

Most of this post will be about the latter half of that quote, but allow me a quick word about the first part.

"The ability to discriminate between large shapes like a circle and a cross"? As in, there was a chance I wouldn't be able to do that?

Here is the symbol of the Red Cross:

Here is the flag of Japan:

And you're telling me there was doubt I'd be able to tell the difference? Just how close to being unsalvageably blind was I?

But back to the second point. Okay, so I can tell that Jay Leno has a cleft chin. Is that really worth all the money I'm sure this study took?

Well, no. But it gets more interesting. They also found some things that I cannot see--including "the ability to see fine detail, to see some aspects of motion, and to tell faces apart based on the spacing among the features, like the distance between the eyes."

This, coupled with an invitation to return to McMaster to have my brain activity monitored as I looked at pictures of faces, set off a light bulb in my head. Eureka!, I thought.

You see (no pun intended), anybody who knows me has a story that proves the old adage "I may have trouble with names, but I never forget a face" applies to me in reverse. I walk past people I know without recognizing them, I confuse perfect strangers with people I know, and I'm utterly horrible at giving physical descriptions of people.

After reading the letter from McMaster and giving it some thought, I've finally figured out why.

Most people are able to tell others apart based on their faces. So if they see somebody, they just think "oh, I know that person" or "oh, that's a stranger".

My eyes (or possibly the connections between my eyes and my brain) don't work that way. When I see somebody, I have no idea if I know them or not--unless they're Jay Leno--so my mind goes into overdrive and starts putting things into context. Do I recognize the person's coat? Am I expecting to see anybody I know in this location? Would it make sense for this person to be here?

This is all done very quickly, within split-seconds...but other times, my brain goes "eh, we're just passing them anyhow. No point figuring it out." And I end up not saying hi to somebody I know, and come off as a bit of a jerk.

The reality is that I'm not a jerk, I'm just blind. Or something. So says science!

--Ryan