The study has taken a lot of time. We started this more than seven years ago, and the study was published just last year. The pictures were run using three different software recognitions of the face. These are the same softwares that are used by police or in the airport to open the gate to go in the plane. So, from this, we were able to highlight those look alike that really were the most look alike,. Those that really were almost identical.
The thing about doppelgangers is that despite looking almost identical, they aren’t biologically related. So, what makes them appear so similar? How do totally different people end up with the same face? And, can studying doppelgangers tell us anything about the age-old question of nature v nurture? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Manel Esteller to find out. Help support our independent journalism at
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