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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Flipside on December 01, 2010, 02:42:29 am

Title: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: Flipside on December 01, 2010, 02:42:29 am
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11880415

My own thoughts are that this is falling into the classic mistake of Correlation vs Causal link.I could be wrong, of course, but it just doesn't set any bells ringing for me. That said I have very long fingers, and my index finger is shorter than my ring finger, so I also have a reason to be biased ;)
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: Klaustrophobia on December 01, 2010, 04:28:08 am
i wasn't aware anyone had an index finger longer than their ring finger  :wtf:
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: Flipside on December 01, 2010, 05:09:00 am
To be honest, neither was I.
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: General Battuta on December 01, 2010, 07:39:33 am
Digit ratio between second and forth finger is a semi-decent predictor of sexual orientation in women.
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: Flipside on December 01, 2010, 08:11:17 am
That makes more sense, since it states in the article that the finger length ratio is partly defined by the hormones of the child, but I just find it a bit of leap to take it from that to the likelihood of prostate cancer. Obviously, my medical knowledge on the matter is not pretending to be complete, but considering how low a percentage of males actually have an index finger that is longer than a ring finger, it kind of makes you wonder how these statistics were correlated.
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: Ransom on December 01, 2010, 09:09:21 am
My left index finger is noticeably longer than my left ring finger but my right one is shorter

what now *****es i am prostate cancer agnostic
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: General Battuta on December 01, 2010, 09:18:02 am
My left index finger is noticeably longer than my left ring finger but my right one is shorter

what now *****es i am prostate cancer agnostic

(http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5949/frankensteinnovelportra.jpg)
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: Titan on December 01, 2010, 09:30:15 am
My index fingers are about a centimeter shorter then my ring fingers.  :P
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: Ransom on December 01, 2010, 09:33:25 am
battuta that is racist against asymmetrical peoples
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: General Battuta on December 01, 2010, 09:50:32 am
battuta that is racist against asymmetrical peoples

there will be riots amongst the moties (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mote_in_God%27s_Eye)! call crazy eddie!
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: Kolgena on December 01, 2010, 09:59:07 am
Last time I checked, you have to be asymmetrical to be human, unless you have the most gimped up viscera ever.
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: iamzack on December 01, 2010, 11:28:28 am
My ring fingers are longer than my index fingers, but it's hard to tell by how much because they are both twisted and bent sideways.
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: Mika on December 01, 2010, 01:00:14 pm
And I'm now feminine?!

My hands are atypical. They are wide but short. I have a longer index finger than a ring finger if I straighten the fingers while pointing outwards, but when I put them at rest on the table, ring finger is longer - something had to move, but which one is the correct way to measure? Both index and ring finger are rather close in length to middle finger. If I had to mention a positive side of this, it makes punching with fingers easier. Compared against the rest of the population, it looks like my fingers have smaller average deviation. This is probably a family trait, just like being able to cope with heart rates over 200 and sustain heart rates over 195 considerably longer than the average.
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: Nuke on December 01, 2010, 01:17:31 pm
mine are the same length when pressed palm down on a flat surface, but relaxed my index finger is longer. of course if i hold them in certain positions it seems as though the ring finger is longer.
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: MR_T3D on December 01, 2010, 03:53:22 pm
And I'm now feminine?!

My hands are atypical. They are wide but short. I have a longer index finger than a ring finger if I straighten the fingers while pointing outwards, but when I put them at rest on the table, ring finger is longer - something had to move, but which one is the correct way to measure? Both index and ring finger are rather close in length to middle finger. If I had to mention a positive side of this, it makes punching with fingers easier. Compared against the rest of the population, it looks like my fingers have smaller average deviation. This is probably a family trait, just like being able to cope with heart rates over 200 and sustain heart rates over 195 considerably longer than the average.
laying the hands flat on table is the best way to measure, because people often point, relaxing the hands could leave the index straighter, and look longer.
so basicially a lack of 'male' hormone means that male organ(s) are less suseptable to cancer.  doesn't sound unreasonable, and part of me *thinks* there is a relation to testosterone and prostate, but I'm no biologist, hell, I didn't even take it in Hight school.
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: IronBeer on December 02, 2010, 12:53:35 am
Left hand: index and ring damn near the same length.

Right hand: index shorter by about a centimeter.

Did anybody else notice a bunch of links in that story to studies claiming possible relations between index:ring finger length ratios and about five other traits?
What's up with that?  :confused:
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: General Battuta on December 02, 2010, 01:05:54 am
Digit ratios are linked to prenatal hormone exposure.

However, a source has suggested to me that this story is ****. More later.
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: Mongoose on December 02, 2010, 02:47:41 am
I've heard that if your hand is bigger than your face, you have cancer.

*waits for it*
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: Dilmah G on December 02, 2010, 08:58:54 am
Oh man, I still remember falling for that one in seventh grade. :D
Title: Re: Index Finger indicates cancer risk?
Post by: General Battuta on December 02, 2010, 09:04:06 am
Okay, I'm kinda trying to get this...positioned right...doesn't seem like I have cancer...