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Definition: Palmistry is more commonly known simply as "palm reading," and is based upon the idea that it is possible to tell about a person's character, past and future simply by observing the pattern of folds and marks on a person's palm. This is, then, a form of diviiation.
The "handbook" (no pun intended) of palmistry was written by a man named Cheiro, a famous seer during the 1920s and 30s. His real name was Leic de Hamong, aka Louis Hamon, and he argued that there were two different facets to palmistry, one dealing with the general shape of the hand and another dealing with the lines and markings which are found on the hand. According to Cheiro, merely examining the lines and markings results in a superficial or incomplete reading. Instead, the entire hand must be taken into account, thus making the subject much more complicated than it appeared at first.
Of course, this insistence on taking so much into account only ends up undermining the case for palmistry because no two practitioners will agree on how to read any one individual palm. The extreme uncertainty as to what anything might mean was even expressed by Martin Steinbach in his book Medical Palmistry: Health and Character in the Hands:
Even when the analysis and the balancing of all factors point overwhelmingly to the presence of some pathology, it is unwise, and it is legally foolhardy, to tell a subject that he has or is likely to have in the future a certain disease.
Can you imagine a similar statement appearing in a medical text on dermatology, urology, or indeed any scientific medical text at all? If any medical doctor failed to warn a patient about a disease despite the presence of overwhelming evidence of that disease, s/he would surely be sued for malpractice - and with good justification, too. The fact that just the opposite advice has to be given to those practicing palmistry simply demonstrates that it is not a science and that it is not fit for any sort of reliable medical diagnosis. Even practitioners realize that they cannot really trust their "science" - so why should anyone else?
Also Known As: chiromancy, chirognomy, palm reading
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
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