Thumbs Up!

A news story distributed by Reuters states, "The use of gadgets such as mobile phones and GameBoys has caused a physical mutation in young people's hands..." Very interesting if it were true. Alas, GameBoys are not causing genetic mutations - at least not yet. The author goes on to discuss the observations of Dr. Sadie Plant from Warwick University's Cybernetic Culture Research Unit.

The 'mutation' conclusion is based on the observation that youngsters are using their fingers in a way different from you and I. What the article, and perhaps Ms. Plant's research fail to address is how you and I came to use our fingers the way that we do. Personally, I learned to use my index finger as a result of having to deal with rotary dial telephones and typewriters. Asian cultures, in contrast, didn't have typewriters that would deal with their character sets. As cellphones and GameBoys have come into popular usage, the asian countries have been using their thumbs in new and different ways for years now.

I wonder if people a hundred years ago thought that their hands were being mutated by the new fangled typewriters and telephones. I know that getting my driver's licence at 18 really mutated my sense of speed and freedom.... !:')

Yahoo! News - Thumbs Are the New Fingers for GameBoy Youth
- posted by tempusmaster @ 8:35 PM