Separating how we think about humans and other animals is like separating how we think about rivers and the Nile
In daily life, we recognize faces both holistically and also “analytically”—that is, picking out individual parts, such as eyes or nose. But while the brain uses analytical processing for all kinds of objects—cars, houses, animals—“holistic processing is thought to be especially critical to face recognition,” says Liu. (…)
“Individuals who process faces more holistically are better at face recognition.” (…) “Our findings partly explains why some never forget faces, while others misrecognize their friends and relatives frequently.”
There was no link between facial recognition and general intelligence, which is made up of various cognitive processes—a suggestion that face processing is unique. (…)
The research holds promise for therapies for that second category of people, who may suffer disorders such as prosopagnosia (face blindness) and autism.
