Recognizing People

 
A few weeks ago my Stanford-in-Germany group had its 50th reunion. I didn’t go because I’m not a party person, but I did enjoy reading the newsletter and seeing the pictures of the reunion. I had a good time looking at the names and trying to match the new pictures to my mental image of what people looked like 50 years ago.
 

 
I actually could recognize one or two people, partly because of their facial structure but largely, I suspect, because they hadn’t changed their hair styles that much. Several times I have seen people I know here in town and didn’t recognize them until they spoke. I’m good at recognizing voices, so then I would check the face and know who they were. Invariably they had changed their hair style.

How do you recognize people?
 
When we were shopping in Santa Fe about a month ago we heard someone say, “It’s Andy Browman!” Andy didn’t recognize the fellow until he introduced himself. It was a fellow Andy knew at work about 20 years ago. Andy asked, “You still recognized me? I haven’t changed that much?” The fellow answered, “Well, I recognized your clothes. I thought to myself ‘I recognize those clothes.’ Then I looked at your face and thought, ‘I recognize that face too.’ ” For years Andy has worn short-sleeved white shirts and navy blue pants.
 

 
I vary my clothing a bit more than that, but I almost always wear a hat and wrap-around sunglasses when I go outside. The other evening I went outside right after the sun had gone down and a neighbor said, “You changed your hair!” I said, “Actually I’m not wearing a hat.” He said, “That’s right, you usually wear a hat, don’t you?”

And a month or so ago I went out about the same time in the evening and another neighbor said, “I’ve never seen your face before!” I said, “The sun is down now. I’m not unfriendly, I’m just photosensitive.” So I have my own satorial trademarks.

What do think people notice most about you?

Thanks to Mike, Looney, Cathy, bikehikebabe, and Rummuser for commenting on last week’s post.
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10 Responses to Recognizing People

  1. bikehikebabe says:

    Everyone recognizes my voice on the phone, a slight southern accent & slight lisp? still? My hairstyle changes a lot. I don’t go to the beauty parlor for haircuts, so my hair is many different lengths.

    The Stanford group sure is fit & trim, 50 years later. (Except for the lady in the white top.)

  2. bikehikebabe says:

    (…and she has a walker or cane. Take note.)

  3. Cathy in NZ says:

    alot of people who haven’t seen maybe 7yrs – get a shock when they do – because I’m not that ‘big girl’ or ‘have long hair’ anymore…

    interesting comment bikehikebabe on the people sizes in the reunion photo because just lately there has been a lot of talk – worldwide about the growing ‘size problem’ of the Western world…

  4. Evan says:

    Grey hair, large nose, big hat that is big enough to shade my nose.

  5. Jean says:

    bikehikebabe,
    Yes, on the whole they look great. I hadn’t noticed the walker/canes/whatever. The fellow in the wheelchair has Parkinson’s. Life is unpredictable.

    Cathy,
    I can identify with the shocked looks. A couple of months ago I went to a reunion of a group I worked with about 20 years ago. One fellow just stared at me until I talked to him. Then he relaxed. It may be he just hadn’t recognized me, but it could have been, “OMG, what happened to her!” It pays to have a sense of humor.

    Evan,
    Do you wear sunglasses too? I know Australia has fierce sun too. Our elevation is 7200 feet, which doesn’t help the UV rays.

  6. Evan says:

    Yes, I do wear sunglasses – the sun can be quite fierce where I live.

    Sunnies have caught on in Australia – but for some reason hats haven’t. Which given our climate and that lots of us have quite pale skin is really strange – keeps the skin cancer clinics in business though.

  7. rummuser says:

    My size and gait.

  8. Looney says:

    My awkward personality? I taught many classes over the years and gave up trying to recognize people. The children were especially hard because they would recognize me years later after they had doubled in height. But then there would always be the person I met in a similar situation – just one of many faces in their world and only having met them for an instant. They would recognize me and I would be feeling shame for all the times I had not remembered a face and the name that belonged to it.

  9. Jean says:

    Evan,
    I’m surprised about the hats. I get sun protection gear from a company called Coolibar, which says

    Coolibar brings Australian advances in sun protective clothing to America.

    So I assumed a lot of Australians wore the type of clothes, including hats, the company sells. Shows how little I know. 🙂

    rummuser,
    Thanks for mentioning gait. That too is a clue for me when I see someone walking with her/his back to me.

    Looney,
    You’re not alone in having trouble recognizing faces. My brother-in-law is the same way. He and his wife came to visit us twice. The second time he noticed the guard rail on the road up the hill to our town had been changed. I remarked on his great memory and he said it was for things like that. He doesn’t remember faces. The family joke is someone will say hi and he’ll ask his wife after the person has passed, “Who was that?” The answer is, “That was your thesis adviser, Dear.”

  10. Ursula says:

    I certainly never need to worry about anyone recognizing me – whether facially or on the phone. A bit like the hunchback of Notre Dame – once seen never forgotten. Which is great but also a bit of a nuisance when you are trying to carve out a career as a private detective or spy.

    How do I recognize people? Never thought about it. I just do. Even plain Janes and balding Harries.

    U

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