Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

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Finger Length and SAT scores?

The study referenced in this story claims that the length of your index finger relative to your ring finger is a good predictor for how one will do on the SAT. If your ring finger is longer than your index finger, they say, one is likely to do better in math than in language; and vice versa. For the record: my index finger is longer, and I my old SAT scores attest to the fact that I am allergic to math.

Discussions - 15 Comments

What if they are the same size??? Crap . . .

Doesn't work for me. Apparently I wasn't meant to be a verbalist, but I am.

Why not compare how big their respective turds are?

This reminds me of phrenology.

No, I think it simply demonstrates that testosterone encourages a certain brain architecture that makes advanced spatial/mathematical abilities more likely. Most men have ring fingers slightly longer than their index fingers, and this is because of testosterone. Actually, they did this study by partitioning the sample between boys and girls...a rather elegant experimental design.

As is typical for men, I have a longer ring finger, but I'm not nearly as good as math at some of my friends. These are average relationships, remember.

Yeah, me too... longer ring finger, much much better verbally than mathematically. And I don't think that finger-lengthening surgery I had when I was 12 had anything to do with it either.

Let me suggest that people that hang out on serious political blogs probably self select for verbal abilities. Or else we would be hanging out at some techie blog.



They also did a similar study that showed this same relationship (ring>index) inclines towards violence. Our old friend testosterone again.



I am not sure why anyone would object to this study. It seems to me the objections would come from the dogmatic egalitarians who want to pretend that genetics/biology doesn't matter.

I don't object to the study, just the conclusions. Then again, it doesn't absolutely link finger length to skillsets; it merely suggests that one is likely when another is present. As a single example of the opposite, I prove nothing.

Paragraph two of the Yahoo article claims correlation between longer ring finger and higher math score.

Paragraph six claims correlation between longer INDEX finger and higher math score.

The Yahoo link purported to be LiveScience.com actually goes to Space.com, where I see no mention of this study.

Searching the actual LiveScience.com site doesn't show it either.

If one of my fingers was longer I might be able to figure this out, but I don't know which finger.

Figured it out. The "original story" link below the piece goes to the article on Live Science. The Yahoo writer screwed up on that sixth paragraph.

What if the appearance of the length of the finger changes depending on the perspective? Are we looking at fingers from the stop side of the hand or the palm side?

If they look different depending on view, then the subject is stupid in both math and verbal communication.

Dain . . . that was just mean. I would suggest cutting your fingernails, Deb. Actually, I have a different question/problem. I have one hand with a longer index finger and one with a longer ring finger. Does this mean anything? I think, in the end, Dale has the most intelligent thing to say about this!

Turns out that the study was based on 75 6 and 7 year-olds in the UK and the SAT in question is not our college entrance exam but part of the uk's national curriculum assessment. Details

So the resemblance to phrenology was not so far off, after all. However, there have been interesting links between ring finger length and testosterone. Maybe the testosterone link has something to do with math scores, as males tend to do better there.

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