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Analytic Skills & Finger Length

nightning

ish red no longer *sad*
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Interesting read... although I wouldn't attribute too much to it without reading the actual paper in depth. Meh, I'm lazy at the moment.

Just for interest sake, I'm in research (pharmacology/drug study). Female. My index finger is a tad longer than my ring finger... I think :huh:
 

Metamorphosis

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Hrm, that's very interesting. I'm a male with index fingers quite a bit shorter than ring fingers and I'm in the social sciences...so right so far I guess.
 

INTJMom

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Did they check female scientists?
Mine seem the same.
If I make my middle finger exactly vertical, my ring finger is ever so slightly longer.
 

Athenian200

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Left Index: 7.9 Centimeters (3 1/8 Inches)
Right Index: 7.9 Centimeters (3 1/8 Inches)

Left Ring: 8.4 Centimeters (3 5/16 Inches)
Right Ring: 8.3 Centimeters (3 1/4 Inches)
 

Splittet

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I wonder exactly how you measure the length of your fingers, because it has a lot to say … If I use one method my ratio is 0,97, if I use another it is 0,93 ... Average ratio among men seems to be 0,955-ish: Finger It Out
 

Recluse

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Did they check female scientists?
Mine seem the same.
If I make my middle finger exactly vertical, my ring finger is ever so slightly longer.

The only relevant quote from the article:

"Women social scientists tended to have higher levels of testosterone, making their brains closer to those of males in general."

Presumably women with shorter index fingers relative to their ring fingers would have more masculine-seeming brains, but the article doesn't state that. It just focuses on the male scientists. (Grrr!)
 

Totenkindly

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"Women social scientists tended to have higher levels of testosterone, making their brains closer to those of males in general."

This is basically the nub here -- that testosterone in utero tends to result with the ring finger being longer. (This index/ring finger comparison has been used to speculate on other related topics such as homosexuality and transgender behavior, hinting that the testosterone or lack of it in utero also impacted brain wiring/development.)

Edit: My index fingers are a little longer than my ring fingers.
 

nightning

ish red no longer *sad*
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"Women social scientists tended to have higher levels of testosterone, making their brains closer to those of males in general."

Presumably women with shorter index fingers relative to their ring fingers would have more masculine-seeming brains, but the article doesn't state that. It just focuses on the male scientists. (Grrr!)

Well perhaps it's because variation in finger length is less dramatic in women... and therefore more difficult to detect.
 

PuddleRiver

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Both of my index fingers are slightly longer than my ring fingers.

Interesting, thanks Jennifer and Recluse for the info.
 

FDG

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The researcher only implies the conclusion that males with higher levels of oestrogen are less likely to spend their time on typically male "active" pursuits such as sports and chasing women and more likely to spend time in more reflective pursuits such as the extremely analytical subjects they list.

By the way, my ring fingers are clearly longer than my index fingers.
 

Wolf

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My ring fingers are longer, but I don't recall the ratio nor do I have a tool to measure them. If you look at my scalp, it's clear I have quite a bit of free testosterone, and recently it's been driving me mad (for both reasons), but there's nothing that can be done about it (on either front). Surprisingly, the left/right brain test not based on questions indicates I have a distinct right-brain preference, which makes absolutely no sense considering the field in which I work and peer/mentor respect I have in the field.

They are missing some key elements, too. They're looking at people in academia, who are less likely to be the actual top of their fields and more likely to be willing to teach. This would require a more nurturing nature and less of a drive for success. I recall the stark contrasts between education and the real world - education is much gentler and less demanding. Also, when I did a project at the university earlier this year the faculty and employees were amazed by my effectiveness and how rapidly I solved problems, since they were accustomed to people that had nothing but an academic background. They were really sad to see me go because they never come in contact with people that have left the nest. (I was there for 2 weeks. I got a job offer out-of-state and I was only there on a contract basis to begin with. This was only because the economy had flipped and they couldn't get students for such projects anymore. It was a job I could only have dreamed of when I was a student because there was such fierce competition for them, but since students can make more in the private sector and have their pick of jobs at the moment they don't want low-paying campus jobs, so the university pays consultants a great deal more to do them.)
 

wildcat

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ygolo

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A few strange things.

My index finger looks slightly longer than my ring finger. I am an engineer. From where are we supposed to measure our finger lengths?

When reading a linked posted later in the thread, I have a "literacy hand", though my GRE scores would disagree.

I also find it it strange that there is a hidden implication is that scientists are worse at mathematical reasoning than verbal reasoning.

That is:
long index finger -> prone to science.
long index finger -> literacy hand.

Still, this is numerically possible since the people who actually choose science is a small number.
 

ptgatsby

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Then please, reinterpret and set us straight. :yes:

I love how marginal differences are amplified by using "male and female" hormones. Especially considering the rather unique differences between male and females in regards to how hormones trigger early development - and is shown again by the 2D:4D measurements being utterly different in almost every way. *sigh*

In any case, there is no data to validate or interpret. I can't find anything by this guy and nothing on any peer reviewed journal relating the stuff he mentioned. If anyone finds it, I'd like to see it.
 

miss fortune

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yeah- I know I'll sound like a ditz for typing this, but Cosmo says that men with longer ring fingers are more prone to one night stands than men with longer index fingers :D

my index and ring fingers are exactly the same length on both hands- wonder if that explains my inability to comprehend theories for some reason??? :)
 

HeavyMetal

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Purely pseudoscience. Finger length and analytic skills? Hah. A classic case of "If it sounds too good* to be true, it is."

*By good I mean weird
 

Totenkindly

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I will clarify my last post -- I find this detail "interesting" and perhaps there is some general correlation in regards to hormonal influences on a developing fetus... but it's such a vague correlation that I'm not sure that any real conclusions can be drawn from it.

It's just the sort of cute tidbit that the populace snaps up, since it's easy to measure and easy to comprehend compared to any real complex analysis.
 

ptgatsby

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I will clarify my last post -- I find this detail "interesting" and perhaps there is some general correlation in regards to hormonal influences on a developing fetus... but it's such a vague correlation that I'm not sure that any real conclusions can be drawn from it.

It's just the sort of cute tidbit that the populace snaps up, since it's easy to measure and easy to comprehend compared to any real complex analysis.

The other thing to remember is that they are dealing with a very small biased sample (assuming this was only done on the university)... However, it has been shown that relative lengths actually are pretty powerful indicators for quite a few things, as strange as it seems.

What bothers me about this one is that it is purely uncontrolled observation in a biased sample. There are quite a few good studies on how feasible the relative finger length may matter (search for 2d:4d), but I can't find anything by this guy.

I dislike that because it makes it easy to dismiss claims like this (reminds us of phrenology), yet has shown to be a decent predictor so far. I just don't like people running around going "You must be good at (x) because your fingers are the same length.".

(And of course, if anyone finds a paper from this guy on this topic, please let me know... since this might just be him going "interesting... lets test this" and I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt.)
 
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