Reading the face
Speaker: Professor Hadyn Ellis
28th April 2001
On a biological level, the human face is the equivalent of a peacock's tail which provides information on health, fertility and appropriateness as a partner. On a social level, it is a vital communication tool, capable of making some 10,000 expressions. But why are no two faces identical? How do we read the face? And what happens when this processing goes wrong?
Professor Hadyn Ellis of Cardiff University is an expert in face recognition, delusions and Asperger's syndrome. He is author of countless articles, including those on face recognition, Capgras syndrome, Asperger's syndrome and the emotional impact of faces.