Face Off

Living with prosopagnosia.
by Glenn Alperin

Outsiders Looking In: A Family's Journey of Prosopagnosia

When a family member has prosopagnosia, it can effect many aspects of family interaction, let alone interactions which occur outside of the family. Whitney Wallace, a guest blogger on Face Off, reflects on her families journey from her son's infancy to her family's recent discoveries. Read More

Overcoming Potholes: Bumps in the Prosopagnosia Road

Sometimes, as a person with prosopagnosia, I jump head first into social situations without realizing that I am setting myself up for failure. Read More

Politics and Race from a Prosopagnosia Perspective

Elections, advertisements, politicians, and photo-ops: What happens when all of these bombard a person with prosopagnosia? Read More

Conversations with Zombies

When people say hello to me, I am cordial as my mind swims to figure out how to end an awkward social moment where I have not recognized the person because of my prosopagnosia. Saying goodbye is never easy either, but it is more challenging, and far more poignant, when I never know if I will ever see the person again, or even if I felt like I saw them in the first place. Read More

Is facial recognition reliable as a singular means of identification?

How do you tell the difference between a celebrity and a celebrity look-alike? How do you tell the difference between a terrorist and a terrorist look-alike? What if you are wrong in your guess? Read More

The "Lost" Child

Time doesn't heal all wounds. Sometimes, it simply grants a sharper focus on which to reflect on past experiences and choices, both positive and negative. Even then, there is always the question, "Why?" This is a portion of the story of my childhood with prosopagnosia as told through the lens of my adult eyes. Read More

Mourning for My "Lost" Experiences

As an infant, I had a traumatic brain injury resulting in prosopagnosia. As a child and teen, I experienced the trauma of an uncaring peer group. As an adult, I am starting to realize how much I have been effected by my positive and negative social experiences growing up. How do I make up for the positive peer experiences I never had? How do I mourn for that loss? Read More

Putting a Face to Prosopagnosia

Having a condition which is perceived to be as rare as prosopagnosia often means that I spend a lot of time educating other people about what life is like for me and others who have prosopagnosia. The time investment to do this is enormous, but the benefits of doing so are even greater. Read More

Orange Coats: Flashy, distinctive, but not uniquely recognizable

The problem with the piecemeal feature-by-feature recognition system which I use is that sometimes, I recognize the wrong person by the correct features. Read More

Misidentification: Musings and Social Consequences from a Prosopagnosic

"Hey! How are you doing? It's been so long since I've seen you and I'm so happy to see you and.....wait....you're not who I thought you were. This is so terribly embarrassing." Read More

I'm Friends with Whats-his-face

Friendship is important for all of us. However, as a person with prosopagnosia, the word "friend" takes on a very special meaning for me. Read More

Seeing My Students Instead of Their Faces

Tutoring isn't just a job for me.  It involves getting to know my students on a very deep personal level.  A disability like prosopagnosia can be a significant asset because it allows me to see who my students are at their core, not just who they are on the surface. Read More

A Friend Among Strangers

I walk into the reception hall. There are a lot of people there, perhaps as many as a hundred or so people. These are all people I am supposed to know, each with a supposedly unique face. Some of them, I probably do know, and yet, when I walk into the room, I feel as if I am the only person there, a friend among strangers. Read More

Stranger Danger

Do you fear strangers? Should you fear strangers? As a person with prosopagnosia, I don't get the choice to answer those questions. Instead, I ask: What if every person was a stranger? Can I live my life without cowering in fear? I'd like to think that these questions, and their answers, are far more meaningful and important. Read More

Introductions and Networking

"Hi! My name is Glenn," I say, as I hold out my hand waiting for the ubiquitous handshake. I smile, hoping my nervousness isn't too obvious.

Introductions are a challenging part of life. Many people get nervous upon meeting new people for the first time. Some of us get nervous about meeting people all of the time. Read More

Glenn Alperin

Glenn Alperin is a writer who has prosopagnosia.

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About Face Off

In the game of ice hockey, a face off is where two players on opposing teams fight for control of the puck once the puck has been dropped by the referee. Without numbers and names on the players' uniforms, I would not know who was on the ice. Prosopagnosia, the inability to recognize people using the face as the primary recognition mechanism, is a condition I have, and it affects all aspects of my life. In this blog, you will read about some of the experiences I have living with prosopagnosia. I hope you will find Face Off both entertaining and enlightening.

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