BREAKING: The Secret to Man's Aggression: in His Finger?

Reuters/Bilogical Psychological ^ | Fri Mar 4, 2005 04:04 PM ET | By Alison McCook

[G.Mason]

J.C. picture ping

[hollywood]

Wood-shop teachers were excluded from this study, I hope.

[Bushforlife]

Surely you don't mean to imply that the widespread administration of psychotropic medications to young males for "hyperactivity" [a trend which is largely forced on parents by the female administrators/teachers in our public schools most of whom are graduates of Universities in which feminist dogma is accepted as truth] is part of a trend to eliminate troublesome behaviors such as maleness?

[xander]

I smell doo doo!

[RightWhale]

"More testosterone, relatively longer ring finger,"

2nd, 4th, ring finger. Which fingers are the talking about?

[FreeKeys]

2nd, 4th, ring finger. Which fingers are the talking about?

"A new study shows that the shorter his index finger is relative to his ring finger, the more likely he is to be physically aggressive." -- from this OTHER article.

[mhx]

Breaking my finger?

[Beowulf9]

Actually I find this story interesting. There is also evidence regarding toe lengths, ear lengths.

[totherightofu]

Think "digit" instead of finger and you can follow it (with the thumb being the first digit).

[CaptSkip]

I'm taking a shower.

I'm not sure from your #17 and #18, but I guess we're still friends???

After a few years, and lots of advice from veterans, I've learned to search with multiple terms, before posting.

[Lunkhead_01]

Here in Boston, a/k/a Bozotown, you can tell an aggressive male (or female) by the length of the middle finger they are aiming in your direction.

[mhx]

I've discovered from this story that I'm prone to become violent and am probably going to kill someone. I guess you learn something new every day.

[Congressman Billybob]

You have a good point. The first time this story surfaced was about two years ago. The press is always a sucker for a very simple (apparent) explanation for a very complex situation. This is just another example of that tendency.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, "Death in a Courtly Manner"

[CitizenM]

Hmmmm, I think this theory is about as right as the one that says "The size of a man's shoe is equal to the size of his....." ahem, well you know.

[xander]

feet?

[sam_paine]

Are people that do Chisenbop 5 or 50 times more likely to have this trait?

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Are people that do Chisenbop 5 or 50 times more likely to have this trait?

Note to file. Are Korean Chisenboppers more likely to figure piano keying or calculate earned income from picking pockets? I see math and manual dexterity in both. One's bad the other's not. Start measuring the fingers!

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Are people that do Chisenbop 5 or 50 times more likely to have this trait?

Note to file. Are Korean Chisenboppers more likely to figure piano keying or calculate earned income from picking pockets? I see math and manual dexterity in both. One's bad the other's not. Start measuring the fingers!

[Swordmaker]

Not too long ago, the length of this digit was supposed to indicate a prediliction toward homosexuality... too short: gay... long: you like girls. Now it's aggression... busy finger.

[april15Bendovr]

Giving the Finger

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers.  Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the Renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future.

This famous weapon was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew" (or "pluck yew").

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, "See, we can still pluck yew!  "PLUCK YEW!"

Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodental fricative 'F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the ne-finger-salute are mistakenly thought to have something to do with an intimate encounter.  It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird."

And yew thought yew knew everything.