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Success isn't written in the stars, it's in the length of your fingers

Take a look at your hands – you will learn a lot about yourself, Cambridge University scientists say

By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor

The traditional pattern in women, long index fingers can predict a child's academic strengths

Susannah Ireland

The traditional pattern in women, long index fingers can predict a child's academic strengths

It is the simplest hands-on experiment – and, for once, it is safe to try this at home. Compare the length of your fingers and predict your own future.

Everything from sporting prowess to academic ability, sexual orientation to susceptibility to disease can be assessed on the twin measurements of the length of the ring and index fingers. It is science's answer to palmistry.

Researchers at Cambridge University have found that finger length can point to success in the City. Traders with longer ring fingers made the most money – up to six times more than those whose ring fingers were relatively short.

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found finger size accounted for 20 per cent of the difference. Though the finding provoked scepticism – one blogger tartly responded, "Scientists with little else to do than measure fingers should pull their own out" – the Cambridge boffins are not alone. The significance of finger length has been investigated by research groups worldwide – with surprising results.

The ratio between index and ring finger is believed to be linked to exposure to the male hormone testosterone in the womb. On average, men tend to have longer ring fingers and women longer index fingers. The higher the testosterone, the greater the length of the ring finger and the more "masculine" the resulting child – whether male or female. The longest ring finger is known as the "Casanova pattern".

Professor John Manning, author of The Finger Book, said the ratio was a "living fossil" of the early period of pregnancy – a measure of past exposure to testosterone, and future potential.

Ring finger longer than index finger

More often found in men than women, people with longer ring fingers tend to excel on the sports field, especially in running and football.

Scientists at the University of Bath found that children who had longer ring fingers are better with numbers-based subjects such as maths and physics, which are traditionally male favourites. A study this week showed autism may be linked with exposure to testosterone in the womb. Autism is sometimes described as the "extreme male brain" and is four times more common in boys than girls. Finger length might provide an early warning of the condition. Canadian researchers from the University of Alberta have found a correlation between length of the ring finger and levels of physical aggression – as would be expected in the most masculinised individuals.

Index finger longer than ring finger

The traditional pattern in women, long index fingers can predict a child's academic strengths. Scientists at the University of Bath found that longer index fingers indicated good verbal and literacy skills, where girls dominate. The findings were published in the British Journal of Psychology in 2007. Studies of sexual orientation have shown that lesbian women are more likely to have longer ring fingers, suggesting exposure to higher levels of foetal testosterone. Professor John Manning said research he had conducted suggested that gay men were more likely to display feminised finger ratios, suggesting less testosterone exposure in the womb.

However, sceptics have observed that twin studies show that 70 per cent of the difference in finger length is inherited from our parents.

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Comments

oh really ?
[info]ramzi_fnq wrote:
Saturday, 24 January 2009 at 03:36 am (UTC)
I have to step into the sceptics camp here. I'm male, and both my ring fingers are longer than my index fingers (but more so on my right hand than my left). I am homosexual, I have Asperger's Syndrome, I have dyscalulia, and, in the view of my educators and employers, good linguistic skills.
[info]snowyhaze wrote:
Saturday, 24 January 2009 at 03:27 pm (UTC)
Does the research specify which hand should be measured? Somehow the index finger on my right hand is longer, whilst on my left hand the length of the index and ring fingers is balanced, what does it mean?
I wish science put and end to research that only serves to reinforce the "fossils" of gender stereotypes. I am female and have terrible difficulties with multitasking ( I cannot read even a simple sentence when I can hear music or human voice, cannot talk with the TV turned on etc.), I cannot mention any of this without someone somewhere saying with disbelief: but you are a woman, you should be good at multitasking! As if my neurological make up also meant that I am less of a woman. I have the feeling that the next step will be taking peaks at colleagues fingers whilst secretly judging them "oh look he is not so masculine in the end, his index finger is a tad longer"...
ring finger longer in female
[info]christiana1621 wrote:
Friday, 20 February 2009 at 05:28 am (UTC)
I have a larger ring finger than index finger on both hands. I have no interest or understanding in math what so ever, and I am not all that excited about sports. This article and the way I am don't relate. Now I don't feel that I am normal. What does this mean?
.....its in the length of your fingers.
[info]lisarutger wrote:
Saturday, 14 March 2009 at 07:30 pm (UTC)
I find the these studies somewhat enlightning, especially in the manner that we can sometimes look to our inherent selves to find profound answers to who and why we our who we are, not 100% but some %.
I am a petite female, very attractive body style, I work at it, I have a closet full of shoes and purses, love beautiful cloths, and appreciate beautiful women (absolutely love the look of a confident athletic Man) and yet I've always have felt detached from other females. Hate gossip, am not interested in girl talk and the emotional everday rollercoaster ride most of my female associates and accquaintances seem to enjoy as they must hash out and count out the same problems over and over again. (I've learned that these kind of women arent looking for solutions, they need to be this way). I would love to have a real girl "friend" but I haven't been able to tolerate the ones I've tried to befriend and have found that so far my real friends in life have been males. I'm married & have four sons of my own. My ring finger is obviosly longer than my index and my hands are not quite as feminine as many of my counterparts; my hands are not large by any means either, they just look like I work with them. I guess I always wondered why I'm not so much like most women i know.
Female with long ring fingers
[info]chahir wrote:
Tuesday, 14 April 2009 at 02:39 pm (UTC)
Both my ring fingers are noticeably longer than my index fingers. This seems to tally with the research in that I am academic, was good at sport at school, have good health and have generally been successful or lucky in life. Like lisarutger, I have little interest in much female conversation e.g. discussing other people's kitchens or the contents of their children's nappies. When other women moan about their problems I have a tendency to search for solutions when they simply want to let off steam. I have a logical brain and sometimes upset other women without really understanding why. Hence I have few female friendships. On the other hand I am heterosexual, more co-operative than competitive, not very aggressive and have a female body type i.e. long legs and short body, big eyes and small chin.
[info]mizwars wrote:
Tuesday, 3 November 2009 at 07:30 am (UTC)
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relative lengths of idex and ring fingers
[info]slimemoldlives wrote:
Saturday, 7 November 2009 at 01:46 pm (UTC)
Mine are reversed on the right and left hands. Help!

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