Digit ratio and Modern architecture: Difference between pages

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[[Image:Villa savoye avant.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Le Corbusier]]'s [[Villa Savoye]], a well known example of modern architecture]]

The term '''digit ratio''' is used refers to the ratio of the lengths of different [[digit]]s, fingers or toes, typically as measured from the bottom crease where the finger joins the hand to the tip of the finger. It has been suggested by some scientists that the ratio of two digits in particular, the 2nd ([[index finger]]) and 4th ([[ring finger]]) is affected by exposure to [[androgen]]s such as [[testosterone]] while in the [[womb]] and that this 2D:4D ratio can be used as a crude measure for prenatal androgen exposure.

'''Modern architecture''' is a broad term given to a number of building styles with similar characteristics, primarily the simplification of form and the elimination of [[Ornament (architecture)|ornament]], that first arose around [[1900]]. By the [[1940s]] these styles had been consolidated and identified as the [[international style (architecture)|International Style]] and became the dominant way of building for several decades in the [[twentieth century]].

2D:4D is [[sexually dimorphic]], in men, the second digit tends to be shorter than the fourth, and in females the second tends to be longer. Some would prefer to say that this trait is 'sexually differentiated' rather than 'sexually dimorphic' in recognition of the fact that the [[effect size]] is fairly small (2D:4D distributions of the two sexes overlap to a great degree), especially as compared to other [[sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]] traits such as [[human height|height]].

The exact characteristics and origins of modern architecture are still open to interpretation and debate.

Digit ratio research often meets with a considerable degree of scepticism due to the obvious parallels to [[palmistry]], [[phrenology]] and other discredited traditions within the field of [[anthropometry]].

== Origins ==

==History of digit ratio research==

{{Modernarch}}

Some historians see the evolution of modern architecture as a social matter, closely tied to the project of [[Modernity]] and hence to [[the Enlightenment]], a result of social and political revolutions.

Others see modern architecture as primarily driven by technological and engineering developments, and it's plainly true that the availability of new building materials such as [[iron]], [[steel]], [[concrete]] and [[glass]] drove the invention of new building techniques as part of the [[Industrial Revolution]]. [[The Crystal Palace]] by [[Joseph Paxton]] at the [[Great Exhibition]] of [[1851]] is an early example; possibly the best example is the development of the tall steel skyscraper in [[Chicago]] around [[1890]] by [[William Le Baron Jenney]] and [[Louis Sullivan]]. Early structures to employ concrete as the chief means of architectural expression (rather than for purely utilitarian structure) include [[Frank Lloyd Wright]]'s [[Unity Temple]], built in [[1906]] near Chicago, and [[Rudolf Steiner]]'s [[Goetheanum|Second Goetheanum]], built from [[1926]] near [[Basel]], [[Switzerland]].

That a greater proportion of men have shorter index fingers than ring fingers than do women has been noted in the scientific literature several times through the 1800's. In 1975 Wilson published a study examining the correaltion betwen assertiveness in women and their digit ratio. This was the first study to examine the correlation between digit ratio and a psychological trait within members of the same sex. Digit ratio research has exploded since John Manning proposed that digit ratio reflects prenatal androgen exposure, launching a very active and on going area of research. In 2002 Manning published a book summarizing all such research on the topic to that point.

Other historians regard modernism as a matter of taste, a reaction against [[Eclecticism in art|eclecticism]] and the lavish stylistic excesses of [[Victorian Era]] and [[Edwardian]] [[Art Nouveau]].

==Evidence of androgen effect on digit ratio==

Whatever the cause, around [[1900]] a number of architects around the world began developing new architectural solutions to integrate traditional precedents ([[Gothic architecture|Gothic]], for instance) with new technological possibilities. The work of [[Louis Sullivan]] and [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] in Chicago, [[Victor Horta]] in Brussels, [[Antoni Gaudi]] in Barcelona, [[Otto Wagner]] in Vienna and [[Charles Rennie Mackintosh]] in Glasgow, among many others, can be seen as a common struggle between old and new.

* Women with [[congenital adrenal hyperplasia]] (CAH) have lower, more masculinized 2D:4D (Brown et al 2002, Okten et al 2002). CAH leads to greatly elevated androgen concentrations in utero.

* The ratio of testosterone to estradiol measured in amniocentesis samples correlates with the child's subsequent 2D:4D ratio (Lutchmaya et al 2004). The effect of a childs' sex is confusingly controlled for in this study.

* Digit ratio in men correlates with genetic variationin the androgen receptor gene (Manning et al 2003). Men with genes that produce androgen receptors that are more sensitive to testosterone have lower, more masculine, digit ratios.

* In pheasants, the ratio of the 2nd to 4th digit of the foot has been shown to be influenced by manipulations of testosterone in the egg (Romano et al 2005).

== Modernism as dominant style ==

There is evidence that this reflects [[fetus|fetal]] exposure to the [[hormone]]s [[testosterone]] and [[estrogen]].

[[image:Glaspaleis_old_fronteast.jpg|thumb|left|The '[[Glaspaleis|Glass Palace]]' (1935) in the [[Netherlands]] by [[Frits Peutz]], made purely of concrete, steel and glass]]

By the [[1920s]] the most important figures in modern architecture had established their reputations. The big three are commonly recognized as [[Le Corbusier]] in France, and Ludwig [[Mies van der Rohe]] and [[Walter Gropius]] in Germany. Mies van der Rohe and Gropius were both directors of the [[Bauhaus]], one of a number of European schools and associations concerned with reconciling craft tradition and industrial technology.

[[Frank Lloyd Wright]]'s career parallels and influences the work of the European modernists, particularly via the [[Wasmuth Portfolio]], but he refused to be categorized with them. Wright was a major influence on both Gropius and van der Rohe, however, as well as on the whole of [[organic architecture]].

==Explanation of the digit ratio effect==

It is not clear why digit ratio ought to be influenced by prenatal hormones. There is evidence of other similar traits eg [[otoacoustic emissions]], arm to trunk length ratio, which show similar effects. [[Hox genes]] responsible for both digit and gonad growth have been implicated in this [[pleiotropy]].

In [[1932]] came the important [[MOMA]] exhibition, the International Exhibition of Modern Architecture, curated by [[Philip Johnson]]. Johnson and collaborator [[Henry-Russell Hitchcock]] drew together many distinct threads and trends, identified them as stylistically similar and having a common purpose, and consolidated them into the [[international style (architecture)|International Style]].

==Geographic/Ethnic variation in 2D:4D==

This was an important turning point. With [[World War II]] the important figures of the [[Bauhaus]] fled to the United States, to Chicago, to the [[Harvard Graduate School of Design]], and to [[Black Mountain College]]. Modernism became the pre-eminent, and then (for leaders of the profession) the only acceptable, design solution from about 1932 to about 1984.

Manning and colleagues have shown that 2D:4D ratios vary greatly between different ethnic groups (Manning et al 2000, Manning et al 2004). This variation is far larger than the differences between sexes, as Manning puts it “There’s more difference between a Pole and a Finn than a man and a woman.” The variation appears to be related to lattitude, such that more northerly populations have higher digit ratios.

[[Image:Modern skyscrapers chi 2006.jpg|thumb|right|Modern skyscrapers]]

==Correlation between digit ratio and psychological traits==

Architects who worked in the [[International style (architecture)|international style]] wanted to break with architectural tradition and design simple, unornamented buildings. The most commonly used materials are glass for the facade, steel for exterior support, and concrete for the floors and interior supports; floor plans were functional and logical. The style became most evident in the design of skyscrapers. Perhaps its most famous manifestations include the [[United Nations]] headquarters (Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer, Sir Howard Robertson), the [[Seagram Building]] (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe), and [[Lever House]] ([[Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill]]), all in New York.

Detractors of the international style claim that its stark, uncompromisingly rectangular geometry is dehumanising. Le Corbusier once described buildings as "machines for living", but people are not machines and it was suggested that they do not want to live in machines. Even Philip Johnson admitted he was "bored with the box." Since the early 1980s many architects have deliberately sought to move away from rectinlinear designs, towards more eclectic styles. During the middle of the century, some architects began experimenting in organic forms that they felt were more human and accessible. Mid-century modernism, or organic modernism, was very popular, due to its democratic and playful nature. [[Alvar Aalto]] and [[Eero Saarinen]] were two of the most prolific architects and designers in this movement, which has influenced contemporary modernism.

Some authors suggest that digit ratio correlated to health and behavior (including [[sexuality]]) in later life. What follows is a non-exhaustive list of some traits which have been either demonstrated or suggested (some of these studies are questionable) to correlate with digit ratio.

Although there is debate as to when and why the decline of the modern movement occurred, criticism of Modern architecture began in the 1960s on the grounds that it was universal, sterile, elitist and lacked meaning. The rise of [[postmodern architecture|postmodernism]] was attributed to disenchantment with Modern architecture. By the 1980s, postmodern architecture appeared triumphant over modernism; however, postmodern aesthetics lacked traction and by the mid-1990s, a neo-modern (or hypermodern) architecture had once again established international pre-eminence. As part of this revival, much of the criticism of the modernists has been revisited, refuted, and re-evelauated; and a modernistic idiom once again dominates contemporary practice.

== Characteristics ==

Modern architecture is usually characterised by:

===Psychological Disorders===

* a rejection of historical styles as a source of architectural form (historicism)

* Autism (Manning et al 2001)

* an adoption of the principle that the materials and functional requirements determine the result

* Depression (Bailey & Hurd, 2005b)

* an adoption of the machine aesthetic

* Schizophrenia (Arato et al 2004)

* a rejection of ornament

* a simplification of form and elimination of "unnecessary detail"

* an adoption of expressed structure

==Some catchphrases of Modern architecture==

===Sporting and Physical Ability===

{{Archhistory}}

* Skiing (Manning 2002b)

*"[[Form follows function]]" - first used by sculptor [[Horatio Greenough]], more popularly by [[Louis Sullivan]]

* Sprinting

*"Less is more" - usually attributed to [[Mies van der Rohe]] in architectural circles, but actually from the painter [[Andrea del Sarto]] and then immortalised in the poem 'Andrea del Sarto' by [[Robert Browning]].[http://www.abstractconcreteworks.com/essays/lessismore/ls_s_mor.html]

* Soccer ability (Manning & Taylor 2001)

*"Less is more only when more is too much" - [[Frank Lloyd Wright]]

*"Less is a bore" - [[Robert Venturi]], pioneer of [[Postmodern architecture]]; in response to the featureless [[international style (architecture)|International Style]] popularized by Mies van der Rohe

In his 1941 essay "The mischievous analogy" (collected in ''Heavenly Mansions'') the architectural historian Sir [[John Summerson]] identified several generalizations and clichés of modern architecture:

===Cognition etc.===

* it arises from ''an accurate analysis of the needs of modern society'';

* Spatial ability

* it represents ''the logical solution of the problem of shelter''

* Aggression (Benderlioglu & Nelson, 2004 , Bailey & Hurd 2005a)

* achieved by the ''direct application of means to ends'';

* Masculinity of Handwriting (Beech and Macintosh 2004)

* it ''expresses the spirit of the machine age'';

* Perceived 'dominance' of man's face (Neave et al 2003)

* it is the ''architecture of industrial living'';

* Pesonality (Luxen & Buunk 2005)

* it is based on ''a study of scientific resources'' and ''an exploitation of new materials'';

* Exam scores (Romano et al 2005b)

* finally it is ''organic''- meaning the architecture looks as if it belongs to the environment in which it is placed

* Musical ability (Sluming et al 2000)

Summerson found that the modernist obsession was not with architecture itself, but with its relation to other aspects of life, and investigated the results.

===Sexual orientation===

* Bem sex role score in women (Csatho et al 2003), erotic role preference in men (McIntyre 2003)

* Lesbians vs. straight women, butch vs. femme lesbians (Brown et al 2002)

* Gay vs straight men and the very odd Europe vs. North American staight man effect (reviewed in McFadden et al 2005). Difference in digit ratio between identical twins discordant for sexual orientation (Hall & Love 2003)

* [[Fraternal birth order]] effect on digit ratio (Williams et al 2000).

==See also==

===Transsexualism===

{{commonscat|Modern movement}}

* A recent study in Germany has found a correlation between digit ratio and male to female [[transsexualism]]. Male to female transsexuals were found to have a higher digit ratio than control males, but one that was comparable to control females. (Schneider, Pickel & Stalla 2005)

* [[Adolf Loos]]

* [[Alvar Aalto]]

* [[Bauhaus]]

* [[Form follows function]]

* [[Frank Lloyd Wright]]

* [[Glaspaleis]]

* [[I. M. Pei]]

* [[Le Corbusier]]

* [[Louis Kahn]]

* [[Louis Sullivan]]

* [[Ludwig Mies van der Rohe]]

* [[Mid-century modern]]

* [[Oscar Niemeyer]]

* [[Otto Wagner]]

* [[Peter and Alison Smithson]]

* [[Philip Johnson]]

* [[Ralph Tubbs]]

* [[San Diego Modernism]]

* [[Walter Gropius]]

==External links==

===Digit ratio and handedness, autism, other immune diseases===

* [http://MarinModern.com/ Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Northern California]

* [http://www.modernsandiego.com/ Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Southern California]

*[http://www.ugr.es/~jfg/casas/index.htm Graphic and chronological vision of modern architecture through its houses.]

*[http://news.architecture.sk Modern Architecture news]

{{Modernism}}

There is some evidence that testosterone facilitates the differentiation of the brain at prenatally and postnataly. There have been many extensions of this, such as the [[Geschwind-Galaburda Hypothesis]], that immune dieseases (Geschwind and Galaburda, 1985) and autism (Baron-Cohen et al., 2004) are related to prenatal testosterone, this also explaining why more men are left-handed, autistic, etc. than women.

[[Category:Architectural history]]

[[Category:Architectural styles]]

[[Category:Modernism]]

[[Category:Modernist architecture]]

[[de:Klassische Moderne (Architektur)]]

[[fr:Architecture moderne]]

[[ja:モダニズム建築]]

See also [[biology and sexual orientation]].

[[es:Arquitectura moderna]]

[[it:Movimento Moderno]]

==Digit ratio research in non-human animals==

[[nl:Nieuwe Bouwen]]

* Dennis McFadden and collaborators have demonstrated sexual dimorphism in hind limb digit ratio in a number of [[great apes]], including gorillas and chimpanzees.

[[pl:Modernizm (architektura)]]

* Sexual dimorphism in hind limb 2D:4D has been demonstrated in mice by two studies by both John Manning, and Marc Breedlove's research groups. There is some evidence to suggest that this effect is not seen in all mouse strains.

[[pt:Arquitetura moderna]]

* Nancy Burley's research group has demonstrated sexual dimorphism in zebra finches, and found a correlation between digit ratio in females and the strength of their preference for sexually selected traits in males.

[[vi:Kiến trúc Hiện đại]]

* Front limb D2:D3 has shown to be influenced by prenatal alcohol exposure in female rats

==References==

* Brown, W. M., Finn, C. J., Cooke, B. M., & Breedlove, S. M. (2002). Differences in finger length between self-identified "butch" and "femme" lesbians. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31, 123-128.

* Csathó, A., Osváth, A., Bicsák, E., Karádi, Manning, J., Kállai, J. (2003) Sex role identity related to the ratio of second to fourth digit length in women. Biological Psychology, 62, 147-156

* Lutchmaya, S., Baron-Cohen, S., Raggatt, P., Knickmeyer, R. & Manning, J.T. (2004). '2nd to 4th digit ratios, fetal testosterone and estradiol' Early Human Development 77, 23-28.

* Manning, J.T., Wilson, D.J. and Lewis-Jones, D.I. (1998). The ration of 2nd to 4th digit length: a predictor of sperm numbers and concentration to testosterone, leteinizing hormone and oestrogen, Human Reproduction, 13 (11), 3000-3004

* Manning, J.T., Barley, L., Walton, J., Lewis-Jones, D.I., [[Robert Trivers|Trivers, R.L.]], Singh, D., Thornhill, R., Rohde, P., Bereckei, T., Henzi, P., Soler, M. & Sved, A. (2000). The 2nd:4th digit ratio, sexual dimorphism, population differences, and reproductive success: evidence for sexually antagonistic genes. Evolution and Human Behavior. 21, 163-183

* Manning, J.T." (2002). Digit ratio: a pointer to fertility, behaviour, and health. Rutgers U. Press. New Brunswick, NJ.

* Manning, J.T., Bundred, P.E., Newton, D.J., & Flanigan, B.F. (2003). 'The second to fourth digit ratio and variation in the androgen receptor gene' Evolution and Human Behavior 24, 399-405.

* Manning, J.T., Stewart, A., Bundred, P.E. & [[Robert Trivers|Trivers, R.L.]] (2004). Sex and ethnic differences in 2nd to 4th digit ratio of children. Early Human Development 80, 161-168.

* Schneider, Harald J. Pickel, Johanna and Stalla,Günter K., (2005) Typical female 2nd-4th finger length (2D:4D) ratios in male-to-female transsexuals--possible implications for prenatal androgen exposure, Psychoneuroendocrinology, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 2 September 2005, (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TBX-4H16P9S-1/2/ae91dff18b1b99385054e3bf971d47f9)

* Williams, T. J., Pepitone, M. E., Christensen, S. E., Cooke, B. M., Huberman, A. D., Breedlove, N. J., Breedlove, T. J., Jordan, C. L., & Breedlove, S. M. (2000). Finger-length ratios and sexual orientation. Nature, 404, 455-456.

* Wilson, G.D. (1983). Finger-length as an index of assertiveness in women. Personality and Individual Differences 4, 111-112.

== External links ==

* [http://psych.unn.ac.uk/users/nick/HBppws04/tsld010.htm Hormones & Behaviour. Workshop 4: Homosexuality.]

* [http://human-nature.com/nibbs/02/manning.html Book review - Digit Ratio: A Pointer to Fertility, Behavior and Health]

* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11263685&dopt=Abstract abstract of The 2nd to 4th digit ratio and autism.]

* [http://www.digitratio.com Digit ratio and human evolution]

[[Category:Gender]]

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