What would happen if the whole world went face blind?

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Imagine human society from a dog’s point of view. We can’t even recognize most acquaintances person by scent alone, let alone put together a story of each other’s day by sniffing where someone took a piss or by taking a whiff of the ol’ anal glands.

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Admittedly, that’s never a very complicated story to put together.

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People would wear name tags, keep some constant item in their wardrobe as an equivalent, or so.

And I wouldn’t be disadvantaged in group settings.

Bring it on, please. You can start 25+ years ago.

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I call the black cape!

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“In the land of the face blind, the guy who has a vague recollection of where he knows you from but can’t quite place the name is king.”

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they seem happier than us.

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Ever saw a dog with a mortgage?

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DALMATIANS
“Hey, look, the truck’s stopping.”
“Did they take us to the park this time?”
“No—it’s a fire. Another horrible fire.”
“What the hell is wrong with these people?”

–from Animal Tales by Simon Rich

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What would happen if people went hand-blind? Or elbow-blind? Or voice-deaf?

People are selective, so they would probably simply focus upon something else. The fronts of people’s heads aren’t particularly special, except that many get fixated upon them.

recognizing 100+ persons based on other body parts? maybe.

but the “fronts of people’s heads” are important to find out about the mood. sure, boring social animal stuff. so probably not of interest for you : P

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“Everybody wants prosthetic foreheads for their real heads.”

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Quite the opposite, I find! If people were more interested in being sociable than deliberately obscure, they might discuss their moods. Going out of their way to avoid language strikes me as being rather lazy and antisocial.

It would be a huge coincidence if “everybody” wanted anything! Perhaps you can market prosthetic foreheads as being a new kind of sex toy for people to fondle.

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No, that’s not true. Humans (well, most humans) have an enormous amount of genetically hardwired neurocircuitry dedicated purely to reading faces. Vast quantities of information are conveyed by the twist of a mouth or the angle of an eyebrow, to the extent that–as the article, and Shaddack, mention–people who lack that wiring are at a significant social disadvantage.

You’re–again–making unfounded assumptions about the way other people think. For neurotypical people, facial expressions and body language are communication, as clear as audible speech. It’s a language that some of us don’t speak, or aren’t fluent in, which naturally leads to unfortunate misunderstandings all around, and certainly the world would be a happier place if more people understood that and were willing to make concessions. But it’s silly to say that neurotypicals are “lazy and antisocial” because you (or I) can’t hear the language that they’re speaking.

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Everybody wants a rock to wind a piece of string around!

(it’s a song lyric, and a damn good reference @DreamboatSkanky called out there. So very on topic, if you know the song!)

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or “as unclear as audible speech” : )

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