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Yesterday I read an unusual article. It seems some researchers have discovered that babies are better than adults at recognizing minute differences in countenance and they are better able than adults to tell one monkey's face from another. This didn't come as a surprise to me at all and here's why. Living in Japan for so many years, I have spent an enormous total of hours in elevators in which I am the only foreigner. Japanese adults are usually polite and don't stare, as are many older children. But babies (some so young it seems they maybe can't see well yet) often fix me with a wary and unwavering stare.
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In their strollers they screw up their tiny faces in a frowning effort to recall if they have ever seen a face quite like mine. It is clear that they know I am different, though with all the chapatsu people around these days, adults sometimes don't notice me at all until they realize the baby is staring at something. I hope these researchers will soon extend their experiments to include human faces so that I can be reassured that these clever babies aren't staring because they think I'm a monkey!
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English Academy