I mean why 5, why 5 on each limb, why not 4 or 6. Why do our feet also have 5. Whats with our body being so symmetrical.
People who know anything about evolution, now is your time to shine.
Once most societies decided to use a base 10 counting system, evolutionarily it just made the most sense to have a corresponding number of digits to help with maths.
Six fingers would have us at Base 12, yet another argument against intelligent design.
Some people do have 6.
Why 6??? Why not 5???
But seriously, let me make the case for 5.
To grip anything you need at least two. But two digits will give you an unstable pincer-like grip so let’s call 3 the true minimum. So we need a minimum of 3 but our control and precision is improved with another one. And it’s a good idea to have a backup in case one gets injured, so that brings us to 5. Five is more than we honestly need and evolution budgets very strictly, which is why you already see finger #5 shrinking in size so it costs less resources over your lifetime. It truly is there just as a backup.
Now forget all that because it’s bullshit. 5 digits was established in our ancestor organisms before gripping things even came about with the opposable thumb. So what were those organisms doing with digits? Walking on them. There are two styles of walking tool: paw and hoof. The paw has flexible digits that help mold the step to the shape of the ground for maximum stability and traction. As a bonus you also get some sensory feel. Hoofs go the other way: a hard and durable shoe that will compress the soft ground or catch on hard surfaces. Organisms that run fast and far tend to have hooves because they aren’t picking their path super carefully and durability is the most important thing. Predators tend to have paws because they ARE picking their paths with great precision and they need to walk carefully, sometimes with stealth, and be able to build up their traction for a spring.
So if you’re going to design a paw with flexible digits that can mold to the ground, how many digits should it have? A single digit is no better than a hoof. Two points on the ground form a line which is tippy and still not stable yet. You need the third minimally to form a triangle that’s stable. Now control and flexibility to match uneven ground surface will increase with a fourth. And it makes sense to have a backup in case one digit is damaged, so you have five. However, fine control isn’t as important for paws as our hands, so the added value of fine control and having a backup adds up to a less, and evolution budgets very strictly, so you see digit number 5 fading from pawed organisms, and already vestigial in many. You could consider the “palm” of the paw to be a digit that works in tandem with the others, though, which gets us back to 5. Five really does seem to be an inevitable number, doesn’t it.
That should cover it. Be sure to drink water before bed.
I would like to subscribe to finger and toe facts
I don’t want my little finger be vanished after my 3 reincarnations, I will try to use it more often, I guess.
Removed by mod
Peace!
What number of fingers or toes would be not weird?
If you want to talk weird, each leg on a horse is actually one really long finger.
Only the lowest part.. But still weird.
I got 4 really long fingers - am I a horse now?
Of course.
Yes, with a 4HP engine
You were always a horse.
Only if it’s one per extremity. Like running around on your middle fingers
There are humans with 6. 5 is just the most common.
deleted by creator
Yes but thats a genetic mutation I think
Having any fingers at all is a genetic mutation, thats how evolution works, it mutates, and if the mutation works well enough, it gets passed on.
The only difference between you and a genetic mutation is that your ancestors were better at breeding.
Is that a burn? I dont know if Im being insulted here and I dont know how to react.
It’s a burn and also true. If a genetic mutation becomes prevalent enough, it’s no longer really considered to be a “mutation”.
Yeah, “mutation” is like “terrorist”. No one calls you they of you win.
Come on now. No need to call their grandma a whore.
It’s actually the dominant gene. Having 5 is recessive.
Not a mutation, was a pre-order perk.
There are also humans with less than 5, some of whom are born that way.
It’s because God had five fingers on each hand, and five toes on each foot, and he had to use all twenty to create the world. Humans have yet to unlock this potential.
How do i unlock being a complete egostitical sadist who demands people blindly worship me to gain eternal bliss no mater what or who they kill or harm in their life as long as they feel bad about it and say im rad?
I think the dude was just making a joke
Yeah his comment reads like a joke. It would be better if it was funny.
Drink more Bailey’s
It sure would be handy to have 3 fingers and 2 thumbs. Evolution is messy, not planned.
How many gummies did you eat?
Because 5 is all you can fit up your ass, probably.
You know what they say about guys with big hands.
Yep, big assholes.
We are devolved from octopuses.
Octopuses are the goats.
Actually goats are goats.
Also I HATE the fact that the plural for octopus is octopuses and nit octupi.
Octopi is doubly wrong, it’s Greek, not Latin. If it wasn’t octopuses it should be octopodes, ock-TOP-oh(uh)-deez.
The more usual Greek word seems to have been polypous (also pōlyps), from polys “many” + pous, but for this word Thompson suggests folk-etymology and a non-Hellenic origin.
The classically correct Greek plural (had the word been used in this sense in ancient Greek) would be octopodes. Octopi regards the -us in this word as the Latin noun ending that takes -i in plural. Like many modern scientific names of creatures, it was formed in Modern Latin from Greek elements, so it might be allowed to partake of Latin grammar in forming the plural. But it probably is best to let such words follow the grammar of the language that uses them, and octopuses probably works best in English (unless one wishes also to sanction diplodoci for the dinosaurs).
i debated writing octopi ngl
Really? Don’t recall ever hearing octopuses… It sounds so awkward
This article might help
Well in summary, while scientists have unlocked the mechanism, the question of why humans typically have five fingers and toes remains unanswered. Evolution has stuck with this number, despite the possibility of having more digits, suggesting a complex interplay of genetic and developmental factors that science has yet to fully understand.
Thats cool!
Bone formation is extremely complex. Nearly all large mammals have the same exact bones in different sizes. Dogs, cats, and even bats (their wings) all have four fingers and a thumb.
deleted by creator
My cousin was born prematurely with 4 toes on each foot.
Some are born with 6 fingers on each hand.
Now, tell me more about that cookie you ate earlier.
