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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is one thing that prompted the author to write this book on the hand?
(a) His taking tennis lessons.
(b) His trying to learn to play a video game.
(c) His learning to play the piano.
(d) His father getting arthritis and his left hand becoming non-functional.

2. Why was Serge Percelly told he had the eye for tennis?
(a) His hand-eye coordination was above average.
(b) His retina had more nerves endings than average.
(c) His forearms were unusually well developed.
(d) He could see where the ball was going and meet it there.

3. What enables the human to weigh and relate facts to solve problems?
(a) The heart.
(b) The hands.
(c) The soul.
(d) The brain.

4. What does Rene Decartes think fluid in the eye does?
(a) Damages the optic nerve.
(b) Causes action.
(c) Causes cataracts.
(d) Keeps the iris the correct color.

5. What does Merlin Donald's theory of cultural and cognitive evolution propose?
(a) The groupings of tribes developed in a two-stage process.
(b) The human brain developed in a stop-and-go process.
(c) The human brain developed in a three-stage process.
(d) The human body developed in a three-stage process.

6. How many muscles that are attached to the thumb enable it to do its work?
(a) Eight or nine.
(b) Four.
(c) About six.
(d) Twelve or thirteen.

7. How does the brain teach itself in order to juggle?
(a) By making the brain and hand work together.
(b) By requiring the juggler to repeat a motion over and over.
(c) By learning how to trigger groups of muscles rather than individual muscles.
(d) By learning how to trigger individual muscles rather than groups of muscles.

8. To what was the pre-human arm metaphorically compared?
(a) A whooping crane and its beak.
(b) A construction crane and its operator.
(c) A fulcrum.
(d) A block and tackle.

9. Why does the author say juggling might be considered a pastime that accomplishes nothing?
(a) It returns all items used back to their original state.
(b) It has no purpose.
(c) It does not earn you any money.
(d) It replaces the energy it uses but there is not net gain.

10. What does the coordination of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones do?
(a) Forms a synergistic system.
(b) Creates a system of interrelated functions.
(c) Creates tensions to enable movement.
(d) It orients the arm and hand to make adjusting and tension-setting movements that keep the body upright.

11. Who describes the hand as the "consummation of all perfection as an instrument"?
(a) Issac Newton.
(b) Francis Bacon.
(c) Sir Francis Hemmington.
(d) Sir Charles Bell.

12. What is one thing the thumb is uniquely able to do?
(a) Hyperextend.
(b) Nothing.
(c) Bend at the middle knuckle.
(d) Move independently of any other finger.

13. What is paleoanthropology?
(a) The study of human civilizations.
(b) The study of matriarchal civilizations.
(c) The study of evolution of animals.
(d) The study of ancient, human origins.

14. What is the critical significance of the paddle in Duchenne's model?
(a) It sends simultaneous signals that result in the interplay of movement.
(b) It leaves one muscle group balanced.
(c) It leaves one muscle group unbalanced.
(d) It allows for greater rotation.

15. From where does Sherrington discover signals originate to cause movement?
(a) The spinal cord.
(b) The brain.
(c) The blood.
(d) The muscle itself.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the author say is a choreographed skill?

2. How does John Napier identify the terms "power grip" and "precision grip"?

3. What is the hand's optimal position over the keyboard?

4. Who says that the hand and brain both speak to each other?

5. According to Wilson, how many problem-solving strategies are there that stand out above all others?

(see the answer keys)

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