You Can Tell How Smart Someone Is Just By Looking At This Body Part, Says Science
Sometimes, size really does matter.
Abbat . | Pexels There are a lot of factors that go into determining someone's intelligence. However, a recent study found that, outside of the obvious factors that measure intelligence, there's a biological link that has nothing to do with how well-read you might be or the grades you got in school. In fact, by simply looking at a person's hands, specifically their thumbs, you can get a pretty clear picture of their brain power.
According to researchers who studied 94 different primate species, including fossils and living animals, to understand how our ancestors developed their abilities, they found a common similarity in the length of thumbs that directly correlates to cognition.
Researchers discovered a link between the length of a person's thumb and intelligence.
What did the smartest kids in school all have in common? Most would assume they had the discipline to apply themselves and study hard. And while that wouldn't be wrong, researchers have found that basic biology might play a bigger role in intelligence than they once thought. Specifically, people with long thumbs are genetically predisposed to having larger brains, and suddenly asking about the size of a person's hands has taken on a whole new meaning.
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The study published in Communications Biology found that people with long thumbs consistently have larger brains, and larger brains are linked with higher cognitive function. To draw this conclusion, researchers examined 94 living and extinct primate species, and the longer-thumbed species all had, well, bigger brains.
The researchers proved that dexterity and intelligence evolved separately.
So, it's been a long-held belief that what separates humans and their ability to reason was evolutionarily linked to thumbs. Specifically, opposable thumbs that allowed us to grip things. Researchers often theorized that the ability to hold tools and perform complex tasks, thanks to our thumbs, helped mold our brains, giving us the fundamentals for the brains we have today.
It makes sense when you think about it, but that's why this study is so fascinating. The research proved that thumb length was tied to the neocortex, which is the part of the brain tied to thinking, not dexterity. Meaning movement wasn't the driving force for the evolution of thumbs, which would be tied to the cerebellum.
"We’ve always known that our big brains and nimble fingers set us apart, but now we can see they didn’t evolve separately," explained Dr. Joanna Baker, lead author from the University of Reading. "As our ancestors got better at picking up and manipulating objects, their brains had to grow to handle these new skills. These abilities have been fine-tuned through millions of years of brain evolution."
Basically, we are way more complex than we once thought. The parts of the brain that control movement and consciousness aren't as distinctly separate as was once believed, and that means our evolution is much more complex.
A person's thumbs can also reveal a lot about their personality, as well.
Thumbs don't just shed a glimpse into the size of a person's brain, either. These amazing digits can also reveal aspects of personality.
While it's not concrete research like the evolutionary study, having a straight thumb can indicate you're the kind of person who enjoys logic and order. Whereas having a curved thumb might mean you're someone who's incredibly creative and passionate. The fact is, in light of the new research about dexterity being linked directly to intelligence, who's to say that the curvature of your thumb can't reveal other complex evolutionary traits linked to creativity and reason?
This study literally opened the door to a world of research in regards to mobility and brain function, and how something as simple as looking at a person's fingers can determine complex traits about their personality.
Many of us truly enjoy learning about the little quirks that make us the unique individuals we are, especially when those traits intersect with science. While the length of your thumb could be an indicator of how smart you are, just like how the shape of your thumb could give an insight into whether or not you are a math whiz or you're someone who prefers art and music, it all goes to show just how spectacularly complex we are and that there is so much more to learn about how our brains mold and shape not just our bodies but our personalities too.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
