Did you know ? The length of your fingers reflects your state of health! According to a new study conducted by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (in Norway), it would be enough to compare the index and the ring finger of a person to know if this one has the sense of directiona good short-term memory or if she is naturally gifted in sports…
Does that sound silly to you? Try the experiment: open your right hand wide and measure the length of your index finger, then that of your ring finger (the one nicknamed “ring finger” by our English-speaking friends since that’s where we put the union!).
If your index finger is longer than your ring finger, you probably have a very good short term memory – you are able to remember a shopping list, for example. Conversely, if your ring finger is longer than your index finger, you are probably good at sports and have a good sense of direction.
Estrogen or testosterone?
According to the researchers (who published their work in the specialist journal Behavioral Brain Research), it’s all about testosterone. Indeed, the difference in size between the index and the ring finger would depend on the dose of testosterone to which the fetus was exposed in utero. Thus, during gestation, female hormones (estrogens) would promote the lengthening of the index finger, while testosterone (the male hormone par excellence) would contribute to the formation of a long ring finger.
To reach this conclusion, the scientists worked with a group of 42 volunteers, men and women of varying ages. They also discovered other correlations, much less amusing these ones: thus, the people equipped with a long ring finger would have more risks than the others to develop a Tourette syndrome, attention deficit disorder (with or without hyperactivity) or autism. People with a long index would be more affected by anxiety and depression.
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