「指の長さに関する研究」を聞く

VOA　Special Englishより"A Handful of Findings About Finger Length"
を聞きます。

【Text】
Is there meaning in the length of a finger? An eighteen ninety-three guidebook called "Modern Etiquette in Public and Private" had this to say: "Long fingers are a sign of refinement. A short stubby hand argues a lack of sensibility."

Well, long fingers might also be a sign of a good basketball player or pianist. Or maybe just a master at thumb wars. This much is sure: studies in recent years have pointed toward a number of findings.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England, for example, just tied finger length to success in financial trading.

Traders at the New York Stock Exchange in a 2006 photo
The study led by John Coates looked at stock traders in London. Earlier work found that male stock traders made more money on days when their level of the male hormone testosterone was higher. John Coates -- himself a former trader -- wondered if, over all, men with more testosterone made more successful traders.

Individuals are exposed to testosterone while in their mother's womb. A way to know how much is to compare their ring finger to their index finger. The index finger is the one next to the thumb; the ring finger is third from the thumb. The longer the ring finger compared to the index finger, the greater the testosterone exposure.
The study involved forty-four traders and their profits and losses over a twenty-month period ending in two thousand seven.

Those with the most experience and testosterone exposure earned about six times as much as those with the least. Also, the research showed that traders with the most exposure generally made the most money in wild markets when quick action is required. Testosterone is known to make people more sure of themselves and more willing to take risks. It may also improve a person's thinking ability.

The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A two thousand seven British study showed that finger length might help predict test results among schoolchildren. Psychology researchers at the University of Bath looked at the hands of seven-year-olds. Those with ring fingers longer than index fingers did better on the math part of a standardized test than the reading part.
This was true for boys as well as girls. Females are also exposed to some testosterone in the womb.
And another British study reported last year that people whose index finger is shorter than their ring finger are at higher risk of osteoarthritis. That study was from the University of Nottingham.

【語句】
stubby：太くて短い
thumb wars：指相撲のこと？
testosterone：テストステロン
　　　　　　　　発毛、精子の発達、タンパク質の合成、闘争心などを促進・発達させる働きがある。
wild market：乱調市場
Proceedings：会報、紀要
National Academy of Sciences：全米科学アカデミー
osteoarthritis：変形性関節炎


世の中ではいろんなことが研究されているのですね。
でも、こういうの大好きです
ちなみに私はindex fingerとring fingerの長さが左右ともに
同じです。

以前ウォールストリートで身長と収益の関係が研究されていたのを
思い出しました。
うろ覚えですが、身長が高いほどhigher profitだったと思います。

お読みいただいてありがとうございました。
ポチッと応援お願いします。