Researchers have discovered that a quick study of the hands — more specifically, the lengths of the index and ring fingers — can tell a lot about a person’s personality and risk of disease. Of course, your digits don’t actually control these issues; it’s closer to the other way around。

研究者發(fā)現(xiàn)，通過觀察手部，更確切地說來是觀察食指和無名指的長度，可以快速知曉一個人的性格特征和患病風(fēng)險。當(dāng)然，你的手指并非控制因素，相反它只是反映了你的這些狀況。

In boys, “during fetal development there’s a surge in testosterone in the middle of the second trimester” that seems to influence future health and behavior, says Pete Hurd, a neuroscientist at the University of Alberta. One easy-to-spot result of this flood of testosterone: a ring finger that’s significantly longer than the index finger。

加拿大亞伯達大學(xué)神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)科學(xué)家皮特·赫德稱，男孩“在胎兒形成4-6個月期間，睪丸素水平會有一次大幅提升”，這會對以后的健康和行為產(chǎn)生影響。睪丸素水平較高的一個明顯標(biāo)志就是無名指比食指長很多。

Scientists are not at the point where they can factor in finger length to arrive at a diagnosis, but they’ve gathered evidence that shows how this prenatal hormone imbalance can affect a person for life, from increasing or decreasing your risk of certain diseases, to predicting how easily you get lost or lose your temper。

科學(xué)家現(xiàn)在還不能將手指長度作為一個診斷因素，但他們已收集了一些證據(jù)來表明這種胎兒期的荷爾蒙失衡是如何對人的一生產(chǎn)生影響的，影響包括增加或降低患某種疾病的風(fēng)險，或是脾氣的好壞。

Researchers continue to study what sparks these hormonal changes and have begun looking at environmental chemical exposure, stress levels and diet during pregnancy。

研究者繼續(xù)研究何種因素導(dǎo)致了這種荷爾蒙水平的改變，并已開始具體研究孕婦在環(huán)境中接觸到的化學(xué)成分、壓力水平和飲食狀況等因素。

How Do You Measure Up?

如何測量?

Measure your index and ring fingers, base to tip. (Most of the studies used the right hand。) Divide the length of your index finger by the length of your ring finger to determine the digit ratio, or finger quotient (Fq). A longer ring finger results in an Fq of less than 1 and a more “masculine” hand shape。

量一下自己食指和無名指從頭至尾的長度。(大多數(shù)研究使用的是右手)用食指的長度除以無名指的長度，得到一個比率，稱為手指系數(shù)(Fq)。如果無名指長，那么Fq小于1，且手型更為男性化。

Fq < 1：

Increased verbal aggression

言語攻擊性更強

The shorter your index finger, the sharper your tongue: In both men and women, a lower Fq can predict more verbal sparring。

食指越短，說話越不客氣。Fq值低表明更強的言語攻擊性，男女都是如此。

Improved athletic ability

運動能力更好

A greater surge of prenatal testosterone can be an indicator of high levels of achievement in sports, as well as a mental toughness in athletics. In one study, college varsity athletes (male and female) were found to have shorter index fingers than other students。

胎兒睪丸素水平大幅提高可預(yù)示較好的運動能力以及在競技中的較強意志力。一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，大學(xué)運動代表隊運動員(男女都有)的食指要比其他學(xué)生短。

Improved sense of direction

方向感更強

In women, a more masculine digit ratio tends to predict a better sense of direction, backing up past research that found men tend to have better spatial cognition than women。

對女性來說，手指系數(shù)越接近男性，方向感越好。以往有研究表明男性的空間認(rèn)知力優(yōu)于女性。

More risk taking

更具冒險精神

One example: The most successful financial traders tend to have the longest fourth fingers. These behavior patterns seem to apply only to men。

舉個例子，最成功的金融交易師無名指最長。這些行為模式似乎只針對男性。

Fq > 1：

Healthier knees

膝蓋更健康

An index finger that’s shorter than the ring finger can be a sign of knee osteoarthritis risk, particularly in women, compared with people whose fingers are equal lengths, or who have a longer index finger。

相比于食指和無名指一樣長，或是食指較長的人，食指比無名指短的人患膝蓋關(guān)節(jié)炎的風(fēng)險更大，特別是女性。

Increased risk of oral cancer

口腔癌患病幾率更大

A high digit ratio — those with very little difference between the index and ring finger, or with a longer index finger — was found among men with oral cancer, compared with men with pre-cancerous oral lesions or no lesions, according to one all-male study。

根據(jù)一項針對男性的調(diào)查，與口腔癌病變前或無病變的人相比，患口腔癌的男性Fq值較高，即食指和無名指長度差不多或食指較長。

Lower prostate cancer risk

前列腺癌患病風(fēng)險更低

Men with long index fingers and shorter ring fingers have a 33 percent reduced risk of prostate cancer. If they’re younger than 60, the risk is even less — 87 percent。

食指比無名指長的男性患前列腺癌的幾率要低33%。如未到60歲，患病幾率更要低87%。