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The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

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THE BOOK OF TELLS<br />

forefinger are used. One <strong>of</strong> the things that sets humans<br />

apart from chimpanzees and other primates is the 'opposability'<br />

<strong>of</strong> our thumb, and the fact that we can grasp with<br />

greater deftness than our non-human relatives. <strong>The</strong> 'power<br />

grip' doesn't play a part in smoking, but the 'precision<br />

grip' appears in the shape <strong>of</strong> the 'pincer hold' and the 'dart<br />

hold'. What's interesting about the 'legs hold' is that it<br />

doesn't fit into the 'power/precision grip' scheme at all. In<br />

fact it's unique to smoking - the only time that people ever<br />

grip something between their forefinger and middle finger<br />

is when they're holding a cigarette or a cigar. <strong>The</strong><br />

attraction <strong>of</strong> the 'legs hold' is that it positions the cigarette<br />

or cigar where it doesn't interfere with other activities - it<br />

allows the smoker, if necessary, to hold something else<br />

with the same hand. This helps to give the impression that<br />

smoking is a secondary activity.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re are other ways <strong>of</strong> holding a cigarette or a cigar.<br />

For example, it can be held between the thumb and the<br />

ring finger, the middle finger and the ring finger, or the ring<br />

finger and the little finger. <strong>The</strong>se holds, however, are rare,<br />

and that is why they are sometimes used to identify villains<br />

or foreigners in films. <strong>The</strong> message they convey is clear -<br />

someone who can't be trusted to smoke properly can't be<br />

trusted at all.<br />

Gender <strong>Tells</strong><br />

In several respects, the smoking topography <strong>of</strong> men and<br />

women is very similar - on average they take the same<br />

number <strong>of</strong> puffs, and the duration and interval between<br />

puffs is the same. However there are ways that the sexes<br />

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