“Super Recogniser” is a term for people with significantly better-than-average face recognition ability. Super recognisers are able to memorise and recall thousands of faces, often having seen them only once.
It is estimated that 1 to 2% of the population are super recognisers who can remember 80% of faces they have seen compared to 20% by the general population. Super recognizers can match faces better than computer recognition systems in some circumstances.
The skill is recognised and employed among the intelligence community in countries such as Great Britain and Germany. Scotland Yard has a squad of over 200 super recognisers.
How quickly can you spot Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in this scene from “Where’s Itsy Bitsy Spider?:
