Tech savvy or tech challenged? boffins say it is in your fingers

Being tech savvy or tech challenged may have a lot to do with the hormones one is exposed to in the womb, according to boffins at the University of Bath.

Pre-natal testosterone exposure is though to play a role in the way the brain develops making it either easier or more difficult to understand technology.

Researchers at the university's Department of Psychology found evidence of higher exposure to prenatal testosterone in computer science students who scored high in their computer programming assessments. They measured this by the relative length of the students' finger or digit ratio - the relative length of the ring finger as compared to the index finger, which has been found to be related pre-natal testosterone exposure levels.

Computer science students with a relatively longer ring finger, which indicates higher exposure to pre-natal testosterone, obtained higher grades on their university programming course.

The study of finger lengths of 150 students of computer science at the university compared a range of programming assignments over a number of years. The results pointed to a clear link between a student's grade and the relative lengths of their index and ring fingers on all occasions.

The team also assessed non-computer science students to determine if aversion to using technology was related to relative finger lengths.