It is clear why men and women have sexually dimorphic reproductive organs#

Thu, 02 Oct 2003 01:55:55 +0000

It is clear why men and women have sexually dimorphic reproductive organs. But why did they evolve a sexually dimorphic digit ratio? Manning notes that it has been suggested that the male digit ratio pattern may be functional -- a longer ring finger may help to stabilize the third digit (the middle finger) when throwing objects, thus increasing throwing accuracy. This implies that the throwing accuracy required for successful hunting and/or tribal warfare was of sufficient importance to drive the evolution of this sexually dimorphic trait. While gathering, ancestral women presumably did not need this extra stability for the third finger. Today, this sex difference may be seen in male superiority in throwing darts. And, it would be interesting to know if men with lower digit ratios were better dart throwers and men with higher digit ratios.

Michael Mills' review of Digit Ratio: A Pointer to Fertility, Behavior and Health by John T. Manning

Personally, I prefer to take this as evidence that guitar players are evolutionally superior.