clhs sciblog

Smaller may be better, when it comes to the size of ones’ fingers.  Studies have been done showing that women who generally have smaller hands than men, have better sensitivity in their fingers than men.  Daniel Goldreich of McMaster University used 100 college students in an experiment in which he had  them place their hands over a surface that would have small grooves that either went horizontal or vertical.  Data collected showed that women tended to be able to detect the grooves better than men.  However men and women with same sized hands were able to feel about the same.  So it would make sense to assume that sensitivity is based on size, not gender.  Goldreich found that the smaller a person’s index finger was, the better their sense of touch is.

So, sensitivity in your fingers might not be something we necessarily are amazed by.  But it is interesting to see how much scientists can learn and discover about the human body.  There are so many things that work together to make our bodies work and our fingers are an important part.  Women may have bragging rights when it comes to finger sensitivity, and owe their thanks to those who put work into this research. For the full article, click here.

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