On the average hand, the ring and index fingers are fairly equal in length, with the tops of each reaching to about the halfway point of the upper phalange of the middle finger.

Prior studies on finger length had linked a longer than average ring finger to higher levels of prenatal testosterone exposure. This most recent study examined the difference between the length of the ring and index fingers, revealing that children whose ring fingers are longer than their index fingers consistently scored higher on the math section of the SAT than the on the language skills section. Those children with index fingers that exceeded the length of the ring fingers had higher scores on the literacy skills section of the test.

It was also found that the greater the disparity in length between the ring and index fingers, the greater the difference in scores for the math and literacy sections of the SAT.

My own experience seems to confirm the results of this research. While I did reasonably well on my math SAT, my score for the language skills section was far and away the better of the two. As you can see from this print of my left hand, my index finger is much longer than my ring finger. Based on my SAT scores, I was able to skip the basic English composition course in my first year of college.

If you have a marked difference between your ring and index fingers and you remember how you fared on your SATs, please leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you, whether your own experience supports these findings or contradicts them.

Technorati Tags: SAT scores, finger length, palmistry, hand analysis

The hand is the visible part of the brain.
~Goethe

Palm readers have long been aware of the connection between the brain and the hand. With more nerve endings found in the hand than in any other part of the body, the lines in the palms are a direct representation of how an individual’s brain is wired.

In the course of the last 150 years, scientific studies have confirmed the connection between the hand and the brain. It is now common knowledge that the right side of the brain controls the left hand (and the entire left side of the body) and the left side of the brain controls the right. However, it is not always true that lefties are right-brain dominant.

Most recently, much has been said about the link between the length of the ring finger and the amount of testosterone found in the womb during gestation. These studies are being used to examine the differences between the way that males and females think and the skills that they possess.

As part of its series on the Secrets of the Sexes, the BBC chronicled the types of tests that are used to determine the gender of your brain, or your brain’s Sex ID. To find out if you think more like a man or like a woman, you can take the tests yourself on their web site.

In addition to taking the measurements of your index and ring fingers (you’ll need a ruler with metric measurements), you’ll be asked to do some visual and spatial identification and to see which thumb is on top when you clasp your hands together.

Unlike many of the quizzes you see on the web, the tests are challenging, interesting and thought-provoking and the results are detailed. I highly recommend it.

Technorati Tags: brain, hand, Sex ID, right brain, left brain, hand dominance, brain gender

One side of me wonders if the Discordians hold a copyright on it. Another side of me thinks that filing a copyright is not the kind of thing devotees of chaos would do. But I can’t decide which side of my brain thinks what.

It must be Eris at work.

What we found is that, after an individual has been morally challenged, there is an increased need to cleanse… Daily hygiene routines such as washing hands, as simple and benign as they may seem, can deliver a powerful antidote to threatened morality.

Is this really news? Many ancient civilizations held water as a sacred and fundamental element of life. The washing away of “sins,” sometimes referred to as Ablution, has been a part of organized religion for centuries. More than one faith considers washing before prayer not only good form but essential. On the site for The National Jewish Resource Center’s Ritual Life Archive we find this tidbit:

Washing of hands in a ceremonial fashion is used as a way of easing transitions from one state of consciousness to another…

Now both sides of your brain have good reason to heed the advice of your mother: Wash Your Hands!