A face can launch a thousand ships, indeed conveying a million messages the first time it is presented to someone new. Even identical twins have subtle differences in their faces usually these are expressive and not so much physical. It is an amazing thing that every human being has a unique face to present to the world. Investigators all over the world are studying facial features for some reason or another. At the root of it all is not only a quest to find out why faces are all different, and why they end up looking like they do, but the fact that the face is a window to the world, displaying emotion, pain, brain function and social behaviour.
Research is inhibited by the fact that the face is so complex and difficult to encode .
There is no handbook or database of facial expression, but numerous computer-assisted projects are on the go to map our mugs, using 3D models. One of these is a facial scanning project currently calling for volunteers in Britain. The Galton Laboratory, along with the University College London, has set up a scanning station near Euston station in London and is seeking people willing to have their faces digitised in a 30-minute session. According to the researchers, the results will be important for workers in the human sciences, human geneticists, clinical medicine, forensic science and the general public. While science is busy trying to decode our faces for our benefit, others are looking at more metaphysical face facts.