Why are our fingers different lengths?
Question
Why are all the fingers on our hands a different length?Peter, Lewisham
Answer
** Definitive **Name: Jeremy, Amersham
Qualification: I’m a doctor
Answer: It’s evolution. If you take your thumb and put it against any other finger, you’ll find that it is perfectly opposed. That is the cardinal feature of our hands – that they have opposable thumbs. To test this, try using your other hand, grabbing the middle joint of any finger and push it forward or pull it back, you won’t be able to oppose it – the thumb either comes up too long or too short. This allows us to manipulate small objects better than any other creature.