A really great read. "You don't look like anyone I know" by Heather Sellers".
I just finished reading a book by Heather Sellers, titled "You don't look like anyone I know". Until I read this book, I had never thought about the fact that our ability to recognize hundreds, or even thousands of faces iis a nearly superhuman power. I am not talking about the ability to recall names-that is a completely separate cognitive ability. We can be introduced to ten people in the span of a minute. Most of us could not recall their names, but we could easily pick those ten faces out of a crowd of fifty people. There is no existing theory of the mind that explains why we have that ability.
In a few striking cases, there are people for whom that ability has never developed. You will have a better appreciation for this amazing power you posess after reading this very well written account of a women who for some reason has never had this ability.
Here is a review (unsolicited, and uncompensated) that I just finished for the book. I hope it is of interest for some.
My first test for a good book is whether I find myself caring for the characters. Heather is an amazing person, and I found myself caring very deeply for her. Another important test is whether the book contributes to my understanding of people, and the human condition. This is where this book soars. I believe I know more about myself, and the people around me, for having read this book. We humans have an amazing mind. This book showed me that we are amazing in ways I ways I had never imagined.*
We struggle so to recall names, yet never give a thought to our ability to recall, as familiar, thousands of faces. As the book, and our own experience (upon reflection) makes clear, we recall faces in a way that is entirely different from the way we recall names. The unbelievable power of the human brain for face recognition is something I never thought about or appreciated until I read this book.*
My final test for a really great book is whether having read it changes me forever. I will never see myself or others in the same way after reading this book.*
I just finished reading a book by Heather Sellers, titled "You don't look like anyone I know". Until I read this book, I had never thought about the fact that our ability to recognize hundreds, or even thousands of faces iis a nearly superhuman power. I am not talking about the ability to recall names-that is a completely separate cognitive ability. We can be introduced to ten people in the span of a minute. Most of us could not recall their names, but we could easily pick those ten faces out of a crowd of fifty people. There is no existing theory of the mind that explains why we have that ability.
In a few striking cases, there are people for whom that ability has never developed. You will have a better appreciation for this amazing power you posess after reading this very well written account of a women who for some reason has never had this ability.
Here is a review (unsolicited, and uncompensated) that I just finished for the book. I hope it is of interest for some.
My first test for a good book is whether I find myself caring for the characters. Heather is an amazing person, and I found myself caring very deeply for her. Another important test is whether the book contributes to my understanding of people, and the human condition. This is where this book soars. I believe I know more about myself, and the people around me, for having read this book. We humans have an amazing mind. This book showed me that we are amazing in ways I ways I had never imagined.*
We struggle so to recall names, yet never give a thought to our ability to recall, as familiar, thousands of faces. As the book, and our own experience (upon reflection) makes clear, we recall faces in a way that is entirely different from the way we recall names. The unbelievable power of the human brain for face recognition is something I never thought about or appreciated until I read this book.*
My final test for a really great book is whether having read it changes me forever. I will never see myself or others in the same way after reading this book.*
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