The rule of thumb

Recently, the world celebrated the double centenary of the man who changed our idea of where we came from. And with it, was altered our perspective of where we are at present. I remember the time when i learnt about the "Origin of species" in school. Never once did i question his theory of natural selection. i just believed in Darwinism.

But along the way, i formulated my own theories of natural selection, one of them being why man was selected to be the supreme among all beings on earth. everyone told me it was man's brain- the might of the grey matter that helped him discover fire, invent the wheel, and then move onto mass destruction of the same earth that had nutured him into what he is today.

Was it really the brain, i thought? And then my very own dormant-until-then lump of cells came up with an ingenuine answer. It was all very well with the prowess of the mind and all, but the unsung hero here was the thumb. It is the wonder of evolution which is actually the difference between the humankind and the rest of the animal kingdom.

It was with the use of the thumb that man could rub two sticks together to produce fire. The thumb helped him grip the tools that made the wheel. No prizes for guessing which part of man's body helped him hunt, farm, carve and grip better than other animals. The thumb went on to propel man into his position of previledge by playing the pivotal role in whistling to call, gathering firewood, building huts, building boats, navigating vessels across oceans, making tools, ornaments, pots, and basically building him a lifestyle. It was the thumb that helped the thinkers hold their pens, and the soldiers hold their swords. It was the thumb that built civilizations of wealth and prosperity one after the other.

So the next time you hold the steering wheel of your car, or drive your bike, or handle your laptop, or do anything even as simple as changing clothes orturning pages of a book, spare a glance at the one that is actually doing it; and ponder over my theory- "The rule of the Thumb".