[LMB] OT: gender and brains: measurement

[B. Ross Ashley]

On Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:34:42 -0600, Thomas Vinson <t.vinson at sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

 > Manning[1] measured the fingers on the palm side, from the
 > joint between the phalanges and the palm to the finger tip.
 > Looking at the chart of Manning's data, it seems that the
 > mean ring finger length for women is slightly greater than
 > the mean index finger length.

Palm side? Was he measuring from the actual bases of the phalanges, or 
from the fold line in between the palm callosities and the finger, which 
are on me at least about 1/3 of the way up the first phalanges, except 
for the pinkie. I would measure the fingers on the knuckle side, from 
the centre of the first knuckle to the fingertip. Did he mean to assign 
some significance to the degree to which the webbing between the digits 
covers the first phalanges?

 > My ring fingers are longer on both hands (however I
 > measure them).  And my toes are ordered by size on both feet
 > (biggest one on the inside).[2]

 > Tom

 > [1] See my earlier email from today.
 > [2] Maybe that should be "sized by order".

My measurements for these pairs of fingers, btw, are as near equal as 
makes no never-mind. Knuckle-side or palm-side.

As for the toes, however, the second toe on my right foot protrudes 
farther than the big'un, but I think it joins its metatarsal farther 
forwards than its big shoemate. The left foot looks more as expected.


-- 
B. Ross Ashley http://brashley46.livejournal.com 
http://brashley46.no-ip.info
"It would be too painful to think that there are worlds somewhere
where I got everything right."  Sulien, in _The King's Name_, by Jo Walton
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