Super recognisers are people with significantly better-than-average face recognition ability.[1] It is the extreme opposite of prosopagnosia. It is estimated that 1–2% of population are super recognisers who can remember 80% of faces they have seen.[2] Normal people can only remember about 20% of faces. They have proved to be far superior to computer recognition systems[citation needed]. The science behind this is poorly understood but may be related to the fusiform face area part of the brain.[3]
In May 2015, the Metropolitan Police officially formed a team made up of people with a "superpower" for recognising people and put them to work identifying individuals whose faces are captured on CCTV.[4] Scotland Yard has a squad of over 200 super recognisers.[5]
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