Last weekend at a wedding, there was a guy who looked like a young Shooter McGavin. I walked in, said to myself, “That guy looks like a young Shooter McGavin,” and held this in my heart, pondering it, for most of the weekend. Then, Saturday night, a different guy told me he liked sports.
Me: Oh, you like sports? You know Happy Gilmore? Doesn’t that guy look like Shooter McGavin?
Him: No. He really doesn’t, man.
This isn’t the first time this has happened to me. I often think people look like other people, only to be informed by someone else that they really do not. I have three theories for what’s happening here:
1. I’m Bad at Lookalikes
I don’t know that I remember faces very well. I can’t call them to mind and picture them the way I can visualize an NIT bracket or a map of western Montana. It’s one of those things that only goes on inside our heads, so it’s hard to make any comparison to other people, but I think I might be bad at it, and that in turn may make me bad at lookalikes.
2. I’m Really Good at Lookalikes
Maybe it’s the others who are bad. I took a test once, administered by a professional, in which I said which collection of dots and slashes I preferred. I generally chose the ones that were less formulaic and rigid. The person administering the test said this was unusual but generally happened with people who were said to have good taste in art. Which is a weird way of saying that if you’re in the minority on certain opinions, you’re the one who’s right?
I wonder if something like that’s happening here.
3. I Do Lookalikes Differently from Other People
I think I put a lot of stock in body language and body type and hairstyle and not as much stock in facial features themselves. The faces can’t be totally different, but I’ve been known to look at two large men with comparable hairstyles and a proclivity to slouch and say they look the same. I might just be playing a different game here. Hopefully Sean Dyche will still one day want to hang out with me.
