When you see someone you know, the easiest way to recognize them is by their face—but not everyone can do this. Many people have prosopagnosia, or face blindness, which is a neurological（神经病学的）condition where the part o the brain that recognizes faces fails to develop. It can stop people recognizing partners, family members, friends or even their own reflection. It was once though to be caused by brain injury (acquired prosopagnosia) but now a genetic link has been proved (development prosopagnosia).

Acquired prosopagnosia is a very rare but as many as one in 50 people may have developmental prosopagnosia. There’s no specific treatment, but training programmes are being developed to help improve facial recognition.

For many, the situation can be dangerous. I’ve heard stories of people being robbed by strangers claiming to be family members, or of children wandering off strange men.

It was only is this century that researchers began to realize exactly how many people in this world were quietly living with the condition.

Like a blind person who can recognize family members by their footsteps, prosopagnosics are forced to develop unusual ways of discovering who it is they’re meeting or talking to. From the obvious markers like hair and voice, to the way one sits, stands or walks, they rely on dozens of means to get through ordinary life.

Faces are an important part of identity. Not to be recognized feels terrible—it’s as if you’ve been overlooked, like someone’s saying you don’t matter. But it’s nothing to the pain of knowing that you’re hurting people’s feelings constantly, and yet being completely unaware that you’re doing it in the moment. To be alienated（隔离的）from the world of faces is a strange position to be in, but I’m comforted by the thought that articles like this will do a little to help people forgive me and others like me.

How to develop courage by overcoming daily fears

At times, when it comes to courage, we tend to believe it only applies to rare and uncommon situations. Yet our ordinary lives can also be full of courage, even if we are not facing the end of a gun, a wild animal or a dangerous criminal. Courage doesn’t just mean doing heroic acts. 【小题1】 In fact, where there is fear on a daily basis, there are opportunities for you to show your courage. Here are some suggestions to develop courage by overcoming daily fears.

Recognize your fears.

By realizing that you’re fearful, you are more likely to get to the bottom of what your fear is. 【小题2】 you might come to understand that you’re afraid of failing or taking chances. You may be fearful simply because you don’t have confidence in yourself. The key is not to dwell on your fear, but rather to understand what it is that you’re worried about.

Ask yourself what is the worst that can happen.

If you hesitate to take action, ask yourself this: what’s the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then go on to improve on the worst. Is failure the worst thing that can happen? No, absolutely not. 【小题3】. Doing nothing is actually the worst thing that can happen. When you take no action, you are assured of getting nowhere.

Take action.

【小题4】. You cannot think courage comes just in one day. You need to act to overcome your fear. Your action may put you into discomfort, but you have to just do it. And your action can prevent you from being stuck.

【小题5】

To build up your confidence, you need to do the same thing over and over again. Soon you will discover that less courage is needed because you have already gained mastery. You are able to move decisively forward.

Critical Reading

Critical reading applies to non-fiction writing in which the author puts forth a position or seeks to make a statement. Critical reading is active reading. 【小题1】 . Here are the things you should do to be a critical reader.

Consider the context of what is written.

You may be reading something that was written by an author from a different cultural context than yours. Or, you may be reading something written some time ago in a different time context than yours. 【小题2】.

Question opinions made by the author.

Don't accept what is written at face value. 【小题3】 . Look for facts, examples, and statistics that provide support. Also, look to see if the author has involved the work of authorities.

【小题4】.

Assumptions are whatever the author must believe is true in order to propose opinions. However, in many cases, you must read carefully in order to identify any indirect assumption. Once you identify an assumption, you must decide whether or not the assumption is valid.

Evaluate the sources the author uses.

In doing this, be certain that the sources are credible as well as relevant. 【小题5】 . For example, studies done by Einstein in the early 20th century may not be appropriate if the writer is discussing the current state of knowledge in physics.