Mind the Hand

The single most powerfully unique characteristic of the human anatomy is the hand. When our ancient ancestors went from travel by tree to walking, dramatic brain cognition changes began. We then started to use our hands to build, engineer, plant, spear, and more importantly, communicate and problem solve via art and non-verbal gesturing. This adaptation in transportation had spectacular implications in nearly every facet of our function and progress to date.

Yet, the way we teach our children and then operate as adults has long since divorced itself from this critical like to human intelligence.  By using our hands as passive instruments and not as an active means to coordinate evocative meaning and continued exploration, we limit our cognitive capacity and quality of thought. Conversely, the artist, musician, and tinkerer have fused personal desire, time and complexity of learning with the movement, emotion and thought.  And this is what trains and drives a deep connection to actualizing ideas and the ability to clearly, effectively communicate them.  That’s passion.

NASA, Boeing and others have discovered this and use literal ‘hands-on experience’ to narrow job applicant pools. If you have not employed your hands to worked on cars (model aircraft, etc…) or use them in life to build and create, you don’t get hired. Not everyone wants to work in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (I would be thrilled to just take a tour), but the skill of ‘thinking with your hands’ is a universal benefit to practically any career.  You know what to do, folks, go get busy : )

Great books about the hand/mind connection:

- Frank Wilson’s, The Hand
- Milton Glaser’s, Drawing is Thinking
- Susan Goldin-Meadow’s, Hearing Gesture (which is also important reading if you are designing for touch)