I grew up in a house of spirituality, homeopathy, palmistry, astrology, art, and science alike. My father, with a masters degree in statistics, is a computer systems architect. He also fancies himself an amateur palm reader. The irritation with which I reluctantly used to give my hands over to my father, before the SATs, college decisions, medical school admissions, and my residency match results was real, but I was always curious.
In a crystal shop on Harvard’s campus, I came across a tattered copy of the book my father had been tracking down named, The Book of Fate & Fortune: Cheiro’s Palmistry.” I could never tell if my father believed in the palm’s ability to prognosticate, or if he enjoyed entertaining guests at parties, but Hindu mythology, including the epic Mahabharat, references examining the hands to foretell important aspects of a person’s life.
From an evolutionary perspective, it is speculated that lines on the palm persist to allow us complex micromotion without stretching the skin. Imagine when our hands are tight, swollen with fluid, the lines begin to disappear, and our dexterity decreases. This hardly explains the medical origin of variation in hand-shape, fingerprints, and handprints. We know there is genetic basis for the shape of a person’s hand, and even some of the lines found on the palm. A single palmar crease combines the head-line and the heart-line into one, which doctors and geneticists have long associated with Down Syndrome, is caused by a chromosomal abnormality. Marks may be acquired by vocation or craft. The book makes simple associations — callused and rough hands mean a patient does physical labor. Most interestingly, a person’s health is reflected in their hands.
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