Quiz: Are You a 'Super Recognizer?'

Never forget a face?

A quiz created by researchers at Dartmouth College and Harvard University is designed to help identify “super recognizers.” These are people who possess the unique ability to look at a face, memorize it and accurately recall it again when the need arises.

While facial recognition software serves this purpose, as well, humans with this ability are also critical assets in law enforcement. That is why the St. Petersburg Police Department has been working with Dartmouth’s Dr. Brad Duchaine and Harvard’s Dr. Laura Germine to test the abilities of its sworn officers and civilian personnel when it comes to facial recognition.

“This is not conducted by a computer, but rather a human ability to look at a photo or video of a suspect and successfully match it to a person in a booking photo,” the agency explained in an email to media. “We’re asking all department employees to take the test online. The top 2 percent will be our ‘super recognizers,’ and may be called upon to help with special investigations.”

The St. Petersburg department is believed to be the first in the country to attempt to identify “super recognizers” in its ranks. The practice, however, has been in place in the London Metropolitan Police Department in England since 2011, the agency noted.

A scaled-down version of the recognition test has been made available online so anyone can quiz their abilities at facial recognition. To take the 10-minute sample, just visit TestMyBrain.org.

How did you do? Let us know by commenting below!

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