I grew up hearing that cringeworthy expression, “All Asian people look alike.” I heard it occasionally from my friends. I honestly thought that they made it up or were at least joking with me. I mean, I could easily see the difference between two particular Asian people. It astonished me to learn that they couldn’t. Still, it sounded to me like a racist stereotype, like expecting me to be able to talk to our Japanese and Korean friends.
Years later, I was reading the book Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do. Right from chapter one, Seeing Each Other, they confirmed this. Studies corroborate this phenomenon, and as it happens, it’s a function of both nature and nurture. People can see subtle differences among familiar faces, and the numbers suggest that it’s easier for Asian people to distinguish among Asian people (even when they’re strangers), etc.