Is my child a planner or an executerIJ Is my prospective employee best suited for the jobIJ What stream should one choose after class 10IJ” All these questions that have confounded generations of parents, students and employers may possibly be answered by their own 10 fingers.
Using Dermatoglyphic Multiple Intelligence Test (DMIT) and Dermatoglyphic Multiple Intelligence Analysis (DMIA), the patterns in the fingerprints of a child can be analysed to determine his or her innate talent and aptitude. Once the preserve of major metros, the technique is now in Ranchi as well, with one DMIT centre of ThumbRule Dermatoglyphics ltd. based in Ratu Road since March 2012, and one franchisee centre of another company set to open in Ashok Nagar.
“DMIT is basically based on Dermatoglyphics, the study of the patterns in human fingerprints. DMIT identifies the unique developmental potential within an individual by studying the ridges and undulations on his or her fingertips, palms and skin. Unlike other means of talent assessment like I.Q tests, it assigns a distinctive identity and result to every individual subject, based on the exclusive mapping of genetic information; since the fingerprints of each person are unique,” says Pramod Rai of ThumbRule.
Based on Dr. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, it maps the development and growth of talent along an educational gradient, factoring in not just the potential for an existing skill-set to improve within a person, but also the possibilities for him to acquire a new skill set, by revealing various facets and applications of memory-based learning, reasoning, decision-making and even creativity.
“For instance, a young learner can apply multiple faculties – creativity, visual-aided learning, memory-based learning and so on to master a subject. DMIT can point out the most viable learning modules and course of action that would enhance the learner’s natural receptivity. For teenagers and adults, DMIT can help point out viable career shifts and options that would best utilize their learning and application potential,” adds Rai.
The process costs between Rs 2500 to Rs 4000, depending on the company, and involves three steps. First the local centre records the subject’s fingerprints by means of a Dermatoglyphic reader, connected to a laptop via USB. This data is sent to their offices in New Delhi or Mumbai, where the whorls, ridges, arches and other patterns in the fingerprints are studied by their panel of experts. “An exhaustive report of 27-35 pages is prepared by the experts and sent to us in 48-72 hours, after which we contact the subjects. The results are then explained to them and their queries answered by our panel of psychologists, therapists and counsellors via video-conferencing from Delhi or Mumbai,” revealed Rai.
However, while the officials at DMI testing companies such as ThumbRule, Mindtech, Jazz-a-Brain, Brain –mark and Brainwonders, etc., rave about DMIT’s high accuracy and ‘scientific’ procedure, individual subjects are still few in number. One reason is the high cost; while the other is scepticism about the veracity of the procedure. “This technique is walking a very fine line between data-based deductions and a sort of ‘fortune-telling’. So one would definitely take it with a pinch of salt,” said Sneha Biswal, a school counsellor and mother of two.
So far, 15 clients have had their fingerprints analysed at Rai’s centre, including adults and parents concerned about their children’s future.
Some schools in the country are also using the technique for senior classes, as are major companies. Corporates in Jharkhand too, are gradually waking up to its utility in employee organisation for better results and evaluating core competencies of their workers; with Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) tying up with ThumbRule’s Jamshedpur franchise last year.