Surely all of us know about crystal balls — the rounded, shimmering predictors of our destiny. One just had to keep their hands on them and the ball would light up while a mysteriously attired lady would peek into it and reveal the secrets of the future.
Today, we have something similar wherein a machine can tell you which field will suit you best — based on your fingertips! Enter DMIT — Dermatoglyphics Multiple Intelligence Test, the latest tool in a parent’s arsenal to prepare their kids for the rat race out there. It has become a common practice globally and even in Bengaluru, the pros and cons of this are being debated.
DMIT is a scientific study of skin patterns and is based on the ‘theory of multiple intelligences’ outlined by the American developmental psychologist Howard Earl Gardner.
Explaining how it works, Manjula P Raju, founder CEO, Alpha Brains, says, “The lines on our fingertips are connected to neuron cells in the brain. The brain can be divided into certain areas which correspond to certain intelligences. Based on the concentration of neuron cells in these areas, we can identify fields where the child is likely to excel. For this purpose, we conduct biometric tests on all 10 fingers. The values are entered into a software and results are analysed manually, keeping in mind the individuality of each person,” she says.
Going by the figures available, this technology has certainly caught the fancy of Bengalureans. “Many people are opting for these tests,” says Pruthvi Banwasi, director of Roots Academy. “For parents, it is important as it will help them understand their child better. It will also save them the fees that they may spend on expensive courses, which their wards may not even complete eventually, due to different inclinations. They can also help children choose the right hobbies. For example, an auditory identified child can do more of music related activities than sports.”
Teachers can also benefit from this test. Says Saritha Varma, a counsellor with Mindswot, “Teachers will be able to communicate better with students if they understand the predominant tendency of a child. A child with enhanced visual intelligence will learn better with diagrams and pictures than an auditory identified child who will learn better by hearing. This will also increase the self- esteem and confidence of children.”
Rohit Dhar, group product manager at Flipkart, agrees about the beneficial aspects of DMIT. “My daughter Dishika, who is a little over 3 years now, used to start jumping whenever she listened to music. We didn’t think much of it and obviously we didn’t mention it to the counsellor. But after seeing the results, the first thing he said was that she has a strong inclination for dancing. I was impressed. I have already recommended DMIT to all my friends.”
While children are the most common users of this new technique, the user base isn’t limited to them. Teenagers and young adults who face difficulty in their higher studies, elderly people who want to work again, persons with special needs — these are a few groups among the growing client base that DMIT commands. “My youngest client was about a year old and the oldest was 77 years old,” says Pruthvi. While it is true that such tests have helped a lot of people, Anish Kumar cautions against following the report word-by-word. A certified interpreter of DMIT reports, he says, “These results should be used as tools and not astrological calculations. The report only talks about the capacity of your brain and not the capability. As the brain is an evolving organ, it is not impossible to increase capability through practice. If you use these to put the person in a box and label him, the very science behind it is defeated. Parents should not make that mistake.”
