Anthro: Primate and Opposable Thumbs Essay

Submitted By Zihan11
Words: 597
Pages: 3

Research report on the importance of opposable thumbs

1. What tasks were most difficult and why?
I found doing my homework or writing with a pen or pencil was extremely hard. It was hard because I couldn't hold the pencil. I had a hard time sharpening my pencil. It was hard because I couldn't turn it and it was hard putting the pencil in the sharpener hole. Turning door knobs was difficult as well because I couldn't use my thumb to hold it. I couldn't tie my shoes when I was trying to go outside because I needed my thumb to hold the thin laces . It was hard for me to turn the page in my book without my thumb because I couldn`t turn it accurately, I was turning it in random pages.
2. What techniques did you use to get around these problems?
When doing my homework I found it hard to write with a pencil. I didn't know what to do so, I decided that instead of writing it with a pencil, I would type it. Even typing it was very hard. It took a long time because I made a lot of mistakes. Sharpening a pencil was also very hard. I had to pick the pencil with my mouth then slide my eraser from my desk to my hand. Then I had to carefully use my mouth to direct the pencil into the sharpener hole, after that, I held on to the pencil to my mouth very tightly and turned it with the my palm. When I tried to go to the washroom or to my room, I noticed it wasn't so easy without my thumbs. To open the door I had to push against the knob with my palm then I had to move it to the direction it takes to open. I wanted to go to my friend's house to do a project and I decided to keep doing the experiment. However when I was about to go out, I couldn't tie my shoes no matter how much I tried, I couldn't tie my shoes so I had to wear my sandals to his house. When I tried to read a book I couldn't turn the pages so I had to turn the book upside down and use my other four fingers to turn the page.
3. Using your own knowledge or research what conclusions can you draw about the importance of opposable thumbs to human