Even the most liberal of us

Race is a slippery concept, so the title of this Discovery article should perhaps refer to skin colour rather than race. However, ones ability to distinguish between faces does seem to be overwhelmed by what at first sight seems to be prejudice but is probably down to something more innate. It was something observed by the late Ruth Rendell. In her whodunit "Simisola" she has her usually objective and liberal Chief Inspector Wexford assume that the body of an African young woman is that of the missing daughter of an African-born local GP, even though when photographs of the two are put side-by-side, the features are shown to be very different.

I must confess I have the same difficulty with "African" faces, but familiarity helps. If asked to distinguish between Denzel Washington and Idris Elba, or Whoopi Goldberg and Queen Latifah, there would be little trouble. It is the less famous faces which cause difficulty.

As the Discovery article shows, this flaw is common to different cultures. The research is just one more argument against relying on eye-witness identification alone in criminal trials.