ABSTRACT
On an average day, you may encounter a number of people and identify each by face. Even when you meet new people only briefly, you can remember them, at least for a short time. A person calls you from behind, and you may know who it is without turning around. If you spend enough time with certain people, it is highly likely that you will start noticing peculiar facts about them, such as “he walks very fast” or “she stammers.” The fact is clear: We are able to identify people by their face, habits, speech, and numerous other means. This identification is very natural to us. Every day we learn and identify using all these features in a completely online and adaptive system. We do not need to sit with a file every morning, trying to recollect all the faces. It just happens on its own. Learning a new face does not mean we forget older ones. The actual system in application is very simple: We look at someone and immediately remember him, to whatever extent it may be. Subsequent meetings might result in even better remembrance. This occurs even though someone’s features change with time. A person will not look the same 20 years from now as he looks right now. A person’s voice will change in numerous ways over time. In practice, we do not really realize all this. We are able to take the big and small changes that take place over time and adjust our recognition systems accordingly. All this happens throughout our lifetime.
