This is The Guardian.

Fifteen years ago, a group of scientists at Harvard and UCL set out to study a small but fascinating group.

Those of us who really struggle to recognise faces.

They sent out an advert looking for people who thought they might have face blindness.

But in the process, they discovered something unexpected. There were four different participants who got in touch that said, hold on a minute.

I know you're interested in faces, but I think I'm the polar opposite of face blindness.

I actually think I have a really strange ability never to forget a face.

Intrigued, the scientist decided to follow up.

They brought those individuals into the lab and tested them on a variety of facial recognition

tests and their exceptional ability was supported by that lab-based data.

The researchers realised that hiding among us is a select group of people with exceptional facial

recall and they gave them a name, super recognisers.

Now these are individuals with a really exceptional ability to learn and recognise people's faces.

They often only have to encounter an individual once at a glance to be able to recognize them many

years later.

If you've ever bounded up to someone at a party after recognising them from years back

only to be met with a blank face, you might be one too.

And now scientists are starting to figure out exactly how they do it.

So today, what makes a super recogniser? How can you tell if you are one?

And should we be using their gifts more wisely?

From The Guardian, I'm Ian Sampal, and this is Science Weekly.

I'm very much in the typical range.

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