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Ed Balls's ring finger is quite a bit longer than his index finger.
I spotted this the other day in the course of an informal survey of people's hands spurred by an interesting piece of science I had been reading.
I haven't had the opportunity to study other Cabinet members' hands from the right angle but I suspect that if I did they would look much the same.
The relationship between the sizes of people's ring and index fingers is an indicator of how much testosterone they were exposed to in the womb.
The more testosterone, the longer the ring finger tends to be in relation to the index. Men's ring fingers are usually longer than their index fingers, and women's shorter.
The ring fingers of successful athletes tend to be much longer than their index fingers, for the disparity between the two is a good measure of how competitive a person is — which, to my mind, has a lot to do with the row over women in government.
Caroline Flint, the former Europe minister, is angry at the shortage of powerful women in Gordon Brown's Cabinet. “You've only got to look and see where women are in the Cabinet and where they aren't, and they aren't in positions of power,” she says.
Since she was nice about Mr Brown before his reshuffle and resigned only after she didn't get promoted, it seems likely that she was angry less about the general issue than about his failure to put a particular woman in a position of power. Still, the shortage of women in the Cabinet does suggest a problem broader than Ms Flint's thwarted ambition.
Some say Mr Brown is uncomfortable with women. That may be true — but I suspect his discomfort is not confined to women.
I think he's uncomfortable with people. Despite his lamentable failure to promote Ms Flint, he has given other women serious jobs. It's hard for him to promote more, though, because there aren't that many clever, ambitious female MPs to choose from.
Nor is discrimination against women by political parties the explanation: these days they bend over backwards to offer women seats.
The problem is that not enough high-quality ones put themselves forwards. Which leads me to suspect that the shortage of women in the Cabinet is less about the nature of Mr Brown than about the nature of politics.
Different professions need different qualities. Law demands the ability to think logically and a desire to shaft the opposition. Women have both of those.
Journalism demands curiosity and rat-like cunning. Women have both of those. Politics demands an enthusiasm for showing off and extreme competitiveness. Women tend to have less of both of those than men do.
For evidence of the former, look at the world of the stand-up comic — a profession in many ways similar to politics. Precious few women there. As to the latter, of course there are plenty of competitive women.
But research suggests that, overall, they aren't as driven to beat rivals as men. In one study, American researchers measured children's speed running alone, and then competing. When they were pitted against each other, the boys' performance improved significantly. The girls' didn't.
Which brings us back to the length of Ed Balls's fingers. The desire to beat his rivals to a pulp has got him, and most of his colleagues, where they are now.
It is likely to be even more visible in British politics in the near future than it has been in the recent past. Women are probably well out of it.
Cull with care, Prince Charles
Prince Charles has come out fighting in support of the Country Land and Business Association's campaign to rid Britain of grey squirrels, which are threatening the “utterly charming and irresistible” red squirrels.
His main objection to the greys, other than that they aren't as pretty as the reds, is that they are “aliens” who were introduced into this country only in the 19th century.
I'm surprised that the greys' immigrant status doesn't engender some fellow-feeling in him.
After all, the Windsors (formerly Saxe-Coburg-Gothas) are aliens who were introduced into this country only in the 18th century.
Anybody feeling down in the mouth should go to YouTube and watch the video of 200 dancers performing Do-Re-Mi from the Sound of Music in Antwerp Central Station (www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k).
Gloomy commuters look startled, then join in. There's something wonderful about the speed with which happy music can turn a depressing place into a party.
Cheek by jowl with London's greatest
Britain certainly has got talent, though you wouldn't necessarily think so if you confined yourself to watching the dismal procession of wannabes singing and dancing their way to mental breakdown on television.
A better measure is Lived in London: Blue Plaques and the Stories Behind Them, a book introduced by Stephen Fry.
The blue plaque scheme is a wonderful reminder of past greatness: how else would I know that I work next door to Ada, Countess of Lovelace, an aristocratic mathematician who in the early 19th century helped Babbage with his computer, or that I walk my children to the school bus past Vincent Van Gogh's house?
Emma Duncan is deputy editor of The Economist.
Reader views (3)
What a load of rubbish.
Emma is proof that ambition can get you where you want to be - it's not her writing that's got her where she is that's for sure.
And the reason there are no female comics is because women generally aren't funny (actually a scientific fact backed up by evidence - not nonsense made up by "scientists" trying to justify their grant).
- Anon, London, 09/06/2009 15:37
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Dear Emma.
I read a bit about hands and fingers long ago; to be honest; at that time I thought it was just another of those wild suggestions that had no real merit in reality etc.
My ring finger is actually the same size as my index finger.
Being male myself, I often wondered if I was half female and half male; something to do with chromosomes I guess; males having both etc.
I am not gay or anything like that, I have all the testosterone inflicted male traits, like being bald on my head and hairy on my face etc.
So here we are again with the long finger theory etc.
Over the many years I have lived; I have noticed that those with long fingers make good pick-pockets and till raiders etc.
I have this theory about long fingers: Do you think that Politicians today have long fingers to help them dip into tax payers pockets, and raid the Nations tills etc.
My father used to say most politicians are light fingered etc; he never mentioned anything about long fingered as well; could they be related in your opinion etc?
- Mickyinlondon, london, 09/06/2009 14:03
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Catherine the great? Lucrezia Borgia? Leona Helmsley?
- Nigel, London, 09/06/2009 12:23
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