The search for 'super recognisers' in Hong Kong: people who never forget a face
Are you a 'super-recogniser'? Do you never forget a face? Read about the research into the unique phenomenon and take the test to see if you have this extraordinary skill
A leading British researcher wants to know if Hong Kong is home to an elite group of people known as "super recognisers", who have the natural ability to recall almost every face they have ever seen.
Just one per cent of the population can lay claim to the extraordinary skill of remembering a face they may have seen years ago, said Josh Davis, from the psychology department at the University of Greenwich.
Davis and his team of researchers have already tested more than one million people in Britain to identify potential "super recognisers". And today, Hongkongers can find out if they have what it takes to become one by completing a five-minute online test set up specially for the
It is the first time that Davis has expanded his research to Asia. He will compare the results with those he has already obtained from British respondents.
"We believe no one living in Hong Kong or China has taken the test before," Davis said. "Of course, a few living in the UK may have taken them, but these will be a tiny minority."
The term "super recognisers" was first coined in 2009 and refers to people who can remember up to 95 per cent of all the people they have ever laid eyes on, compared to a measly 20 per cent for the less gifted.
They can pick them out in a crowd or identify them from a grainy image, even if it is many years later.
