h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Photofits are very difficult to do. We may be under stress having witnessed a crime, but then a lot of it's to do with the way we recognise faces as complete, and miss all the details we need to build them up.

This site's fun: http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn/body-mind/psychology/photofit-me

You can have a go at making a photofit of Stephen Fry (or another celebrity) then post it to a gallery to see how others got on. You honestly wouldn't believe how bad some of the attempts are.

Enjoy

Fascinating idea.

I have always lived in fear that I'd have to be an eyewitness. I have a mild case of facial agnosia - I have trouble recognising people out of context, even relatives. I could do my dog, though.

When I was at uni, I had a secret fear that I would lose contact with friends and family, and not recognise them again.

I've done a Cuban Steven Fry in the style of Harry Palmer.

Dmitri, I can't recognise faces either, but I didn't know the name for it.

I once saw a wonderful article about how difficult some people find it to remember faces out of context. It compared them with stones. How well can you recognise a stone out of context? I think the article was at , but I can't be certain because that site's currently down. No doubt it'll come back soon.

TRiG.

Gnomon, I had no idea there were other h2g2ers with the problem. Do you do like me, use contextual clues like voice, mannerisms, etc?

And to think that sheep can do it...

TRiG: Your link reveals another name for it: prosopagnosia. (Makes sense, , Greek...)

I usually remember having seen people, just can't put names to them - or even remember their names when I know who they are I used to dread when it was my turn to hand back assignments at school, because I never knew which one to give to who!

I can't remember names or faces; well not bits of faces unless they are like Mick Jagger or wotsit who was a

Jonny Sparrow's mate.

Hey Mal, here's another hootooer with 'namelexia' - often I can't even recall the name of people I've known for years! Faces, I do remember, but not context. I've been known to say hi to celebreties on occasion, because their face looked familiar.

And as for identifying criminals:

Many years ago I worked at the front desk in a hotel. One weekend, we had this couple who had reserved a room in advance, and also a table in the dance restaurant (this was in the 80ies). For some reason, most petty criminals will just walk in without having made a reservation, so we weren't expecting anything foul.

The husband was very nice, chatting with us while waiting for his wife to come down (the gall!).

They checked out the next day (yes, work shifts were Saturday evening followed by Sunday morning, so I saw a lot of him).

It turned out the checkbook and ID had been stolen, and the 'wife' had practised writing the signature and changed her looks accordingly.

My colleague who had worked the same shift considered herself a bit of an artist, and draw a picture for the police.

A couple of months later, a police came to see me at work, with 5 photos. They hadn't found my colleague's picture helpful at all, for some reason.

Asked to pick out the 'husband', I leafed through the photos and said 'no, he's not there'.

'Look again, more carefully.'

So I studied each face.

'Definitely not this one.' *putting photo aside*

'Definitely not this one either.'

Finally, with only one photo left, I said 'This is the one least unlike him'.

'Thanks, that's all we need' said the police, retrieved the photos and left.

He had changed his hair colour, was wearing glasses and probably had something inside his cheeks (changing the shape of his face).

Faces, I do remember.