Human hands hold knives, forks and spoons; they count coins and play musical instruments. Hands write, repair plumbing pipes and tie knots. Hands conduct orchestras, build buildings, draw, paint and sculpt, they prepare food and hold shovels and they turn the caps off jars. Hands control horse’s reins, bowl balls and firmly hold Olympic gymnasts as they perform on the horizontal bars. Hands perform literally thousands of different tasks and how well they function is controlled to some extent by the hands themselves, but how well human hands perform is governed primarily by the human brain. The environment in which hands work will affect their physical structure. For example, a pick and shovel labourer might develop calluses and possibly stronger muscles that pull the bones into place so the fingers and hands can strongly grip objects like shovel and pick handles. But it is important to keep in mind that it is the brain that controls the muscles, and it is therefore, the brain that ultimately controls the hands and fingers. And, although the environment creates calluses and stronger muscles it is what the brain learns from the environment that ultimately decides if the hands function with excellence or poorly. Smart hands (connected to a smart brain) can do things that strong but unintelligent hands cannot do. Hands, or more accurately the brain that controls them, become more intelligent by environmental experience.

Hands that are learning to play a musical instrument pass information to the child’s brain, which grows and stores memories so the hands can repeat the performance in the future. The muscles of the hands also grow (if the body is sufficiently nourished) as do the hand’s bones and skin. Although the physical construction of the hands (that is the skin, the bones, and the muscles) is important to carry out the many skills that the hands can perform, it is the brain that directs each hand. And it is the brain that develops the ability to learn each and every skill, not the hands.

People who are skilled with their hands may have some genetic benefits such as slightly longer fingers or slightly stronger bones than average, but those genetic benefits are far outweighed by the benefits accrued by a person who’s brain is comparatively well structured and developed by environmental experiences. In a nutshell; even if a person is born with the ideal hands to be an excellent musician, surgeon or plumber they will never be an excellent musician, surgeon or plumber unless they have the environmental experiences for their brain to develop excellent musical, surgical or plumbing skills. 

“BABY’S HANDS: USEFUL EVERY DAY FOR A LIFETIME”, describes how parents can provide their child with an ideal environment for skilled hand and related brain development.