Primate Muse
The Opposable Thumb
Thumbs that can be placed opposite the fingers of the same hand
allow the digits to grasp and handle objects,
and are characteristic of primates.
"The opposable thumb has helped the human species develop more accurate fine motor skills.
It is also thought to have directly led to the development of tools,
not just in humans or their evolutionary ancestors,
but other primates as well.
The opposable thumb ensured that important human functions
such as writing were possible.
The thumb, in conjunction with the other fingers,
makes human hands,and those of other species with similar hands,
some of the most dexterous in the world."
We take it for granted until a sore joint suddenly calls attention
to the specifics of this miracle opposability (don't ask).
5 comments:
Just talking about what kind of tail we'd want if we had one...I said I'd want mine to be opposable of course!
And you are so right arthritis in hands limits his music making big time these days and mine are always stiff anymore. You don't think about that stuff when you're young.
Hey Nancy--whose hand? It was my hand I was referring to with the 'don't ask' comment--my right thumb joint suddenly painful when I constructed this (I'm R handed)--but an application of a homeopathic salve called 'traumeel', and a yoga session where I concentrated on hand stretching exercises improved the situation. However, if I had a tail attached to my defunct tailbone, I too would want it long and flexible enough to serve as a useful tool.
Hahahaha I am laughing because as we talked in the car about your post, I realized I left some words out - or just messed up what I was writing in a hurry - now I can't remember and untangle what I was saying. I like my opposable thumbs and I would like my tail to be prehensile, of course!!!
But, do tell me more about traumeel and where you can get it. My hands are stiff everywhere and crack all the time, my guys arthritis has gotten much worse, big nodules don't mix with guitar playin'
evolution. shape shift.
Nancy-I get it at my local drugstore that sells 'homeopathic' treatments, but it is all over the web (ie:http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=gmail&rls=gm&q=TRAUMEEL+homeopathic+Salve&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=13908108801736211492&sa=X&ei=DJKCTvu8HsPLsQLgnoz7Dg&ved=0CHUQ8wIwAQ) However, I never buy anything on line, and you have that mail problem too....I also do olive oil rubs on sore joints--very helpful--and yoga specifically designed for hand stretches. Diet makes a difference--more acidic, less alkaline--do some google research into homeopathics-arthritic diets-and, if you can, shapeshift as Jude suggests.
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