Is a thumb a finger?

[Universezero]

Everyone says no, but I beg to differ.

[golf]

Medically, no, the thumb is not a finger. Fingers have 3 total knuckles including where they join to the hand, while the thumb only has 2. That is the fundamental difference.

Besides, whoever heard of the opposable fingers? :-P

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

You kidding? Of course it is.

[EdoI]

Everyone says no, but I beg to differ.

I've never met anyone who says no...

[SlappyMcGee]

It is not.

[scythe]

Even Wikipedia can't decide!

[unoriginal name]

% At the hospital, they consult with Dr. Hibbert.

Hibbert: I'm sorry, Homer. Your HMO doesn't cover this type
of injury.
Homer: But I have finger insurance.
Hibbert: A thumb is not a finger!
Marge: Isn't there anything you can do?
Hibbert: Well, I could cut off the other thumb for a sense of
symmetry.
Homer: Symmetry, eh?

[Tunco]

Even Wikipedia can't decide!

It's bullshit.
Thumb is not a finger, because it is thumb, ok?

[EdoI]

Here's an answer that says that thumb is a finger.

And another thing I found interesting that also has a result of calling thumb a finger:

I find it a little amusing to see a Merriam-Webster
lexicographer wrestling with that problem in the _11th
Collegiate_. He or she defined thumb as follows:

1 : the short thick digit of the human hand that is
analogous in position to the big toe and differs from
the other fingers in having only two phalanges,

The definition starts with calling the thumb a "digit". So
far so good. But then in the same sentence there is "the
other fingers", which implies that the thumb is, after all,
a finger.

You see, it is a finger.

[Donfuy]

Woah, I never heard anyone saying it wasn't. I mean, you use it like a finger (although more powerful), it looks like a finger and it's next to the other fingers.
If it wasn't, you couldn't count to 20 with your fingers.

I mean, come on, is a 4 finger hand considered a normal hand?

[Tunco]

I mean, come on, is a 4 finger hand considered a normal hand?

According to the classic, yes it is.

[EdoI]

So, if by some accident you lose your thumb, you'd still be saying that you have every finger? Come on...

[Tunco]

You would say "I losed my thumb" not "I losed my finger".

[EdoI]

You would say "I losed my thumb" not "I losed my finger".

No, I'd say "I've lost my thumb" or "I've lost my finger". :-p

[Donfuy]

I mean, come on, is a 4 finger hand considered a normal hand?

According to the classic, yes it is.

Going thru your point, that guy has 3 fingers and one thumb.

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

DEAR RETARDS,

"Fingers" are the things sticking out of your hand. Your thumb is the finger that opposes all of your other fingers.
What the hell would make it different, anyway? Joints and sizes aren't in the definition of a finger. What could you possibly come up with that would disqualify a thumb as a finger?
You'd think that if the etymology in the Wikipedia article didn't completely wipe out all doubt from the issue that the point following it does: animals have doodads that serve the same function as fingers but are not called fingers when the thumb is missing.

Shit is obvious.
Although you did manage to find a more dead and one-sided argument than Evolution vs ID, so that's somewhat an accomplishment.

[scythe]

DEAR RETARDS,

"Fingers" are the things sticking out of your hand. Your thumb is the finger that opposes all of your other fingers.
What the hell would make it different, anyway? Joints and sizes aren't in the definition of a finger. What could you possibly come up with that would disqualify a thumb as a finger?
You'd think that if the etymology in the Wikipedia article didn't completely wipe out all doubt from the issue that the point following it does: animals have doodads that serve the same function as fingers but are not called fingers when the thumb is missing.

Shit is obvious.
Although you did manage to find a more dead and one-sided argument than Evolution vs ID, so that's somewhat an accomplishment.

Hahahahahaha. Speaking of which, I was reminded of this thread when someone brought up the topic here. Fun stuff.

Both links have a 'hazardous stupidity warning', by the way.

[T3chno]

Have you guys not heard of the first right hand rule in physics? The thumb points in the direction of the velocity while the fingers points in the same direction as the magnetic field. The palm faces in the force's directions.

Nubs.

[TribulatioN]

Thumbs are fingers, find something better to have prejudice against!

[Atilla]

I think that distinguishing between thumbs and fingers can only serve to foster hatred and prejudice, and that both should instead be referred to as "manipulatory appendages".

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

I think that distinguishing between thumbs and fingers can only serve to foster hatred and prejudice, and that both should instead be referred to as "manipulatory appendages".

It's a form of profiling, isn't it? Doesn't the Civil Right Act protect thumbs from that kind of discrimination?

[Animator]

I'd have to say the thumb is a different type of a finger. It still classifies as a finger because it still has resembling properties to it's other four brethren, but it has a completely different use than the other four (i.e. to grab things.).

Just throwing something out there.

[SkyPanda]

For you baby, it can be.

[T3chno]

Rather interesting

I was seriously expecting one-sided results. GOOGLE HAS SPOKEN. LET IT BE KNOWN THAT THUMBS ARE -NOT- FINGERS.

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

Yay, truth by democracy!
Case closed!