Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Yeah, but what does the middle finger tell them?

Interesting.
A quick look at the lengths of children's index and ring fingers can be used to predict how well students will perform on SATs, new research claims.

Kids with longer ring fingers compared to index fingers are likely to have higher math scores than literacy or verbal scores on the college entrance exam, while children with the reverse finger-length ratio are likely to have higher reading and writing, or verbal, scores versus math scores.

Scientists have known that different levels of the hormones testosterone and estrogen in the womb account for the different finger lengths, which are a reflection of areas of the brain that are more highly developed than others, said psychologist Mark Brosnan of the University of Bath, who led the study.
Call me a science doubting skeptic, but their hormonal causation seems just a little too simple and general to be accurate. A lot of things can go into aptitude besides just hormone levels experienced in the womb.

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