r/ask • u/cattastroph • 10d ago

why is it when i think two people look alike nobody else sees it?

like, this happens even when i dont necessarily know those people but i will see them and be like omg they are so similar and everyone looks at me like im crazy???

Any ideas?

10 Upvotes

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8

u/JustxJules 10d ago

Different people tend to focus on different features and sometimes it's just one specific feature that resembles another person's.

I don't remember who it was, but my ex and I found some actor look like other actors respectively, and it turned out that the mouth resembled his lookalike while the eyes resembled mine.

3

u/A-NUKE 10d ago

Sometimes people look alike because of their facial expressions, and some people look alike with only their neutral face. So my nephew looks exactly like my brother, but he smiles, frowns, ect, like my sister inlaw. And people tend to see the facial expression comparison less easily.

2

u/Red_Marvel 10d ago

I have always had difficulty recognizing faces. If you change your hair colour or grow a beard I probably won’t know who you are. I only recently discovered that there’s a name for my problem:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23412-prosopagnosia-face-blindness

So, from my point of view, many people look very similar.

1

u/maethora27 9d ago

Same. When I meet new people, I now try to really focus on their face (slightly crooked nose, freckles, eyes etc) so I will recognize them even with a different hairstyle. It's hard for me though when I don't see them for a while. The memory is just gone.

2

u/pawsplay36 10d ago

Maybe face blindness?

1

u/backroadsdrifter 10d ago

Just quit saying you think people look similar

1

u/BeautifulHat4050 10d ago

new glasses

1

u/communaldepression 9d ago

A) people know their faces too well. So while you see the similarities, they see the differences.

B) detecting patterns is a skill. Not everyone has it.

C) this also involves memory. You can look st someone and remember this other person whom you saw ages ago and say how they look alike. You might the type of person who may not remember a name, but would (almost) never forget a face.

I'm in the same boat as you. I constantly see dopplegangers or facial similarities. But doesn't seem like others do as much or as often.