Fingerprints where are yours?

The Paradox of finger Prints....

Close your eyes—okay not yet or you can’t read the paragraphs below... okay  read this first...think of the term finger prints and then close your eyes and create the images that come  pouring into your mind’s eye.   Okay. Now for 10 seconds close your. Eyes.   

Okay time’s up.  Did you happen to think of  being arrested/. Did you happen to. Think of being suspected of wrong. Doing and. A set of those prints sitting. In a file or  being. Part of a big  computer data base. Somewhere?  Did you think of  the fact that your phone. Recognizes. Yours and uses a them for security?  Okay you are not alone However... it may be time to rethink finger prints...well. Maybe there’s no maybe about it.

Let’s look at two aspects of finger prints that need to be brought forward.  

Why are finger prints useful or usable?  The modern perspective would say...well they are useful because  they show.a unique individual has been in a specific place.  While that is  true...it is only part of the truth.  Finger prints can only serve that function because of the assumption that everybody has them.  

Yes.. most people miss the. Essential assumption...finger Prints only matter because  everyone  has them.  If only 30 percent of the people on the planet had them what purpose would they serve?  Oh and what if there were only  30 unique. Patterns of finger prints?   How useful would they. Be?   Instead of being. 100% certain of an identity based upon finger prints that would. Only allow at best identification at  the 15% level.  

When we attribute  the nature of. An individual based upon who has their finger prints in what file that is  one thing although there are folks who have no fingers so let’s chew on that a moment.  When we attribute experiences and their meanings based upon  race, gender, ability, age,career path, economic status, religion/faith, or any single  factor that some people use to describe the meaning of their lives, it’s like using a very  smudged partial  finger print and stating  with 100% certainty —This is Jim and here is what  he is like.  This is what Jim knows and this is what Jim has done and what he might do.  

What if...

What if something good happened and we were compelled to dust for. Prints?  for example what if  every. Dollar bill that was placed in the Salvation Army bucket was dusted. For prints and we keep records of that?   What if  every  blue ribbon science. Fair project was  dusted?  What if every time a student went from a 72  to a 85 percent on a math test that were dusted for prints?  What would that  do to change ideas about finger prints?  Do we really only want to identify specific individuals  for things we deem  “bad” of needing to be controlled?  What if we looked hard for unique sets of skills that fit into. The diversity  of things that can make the world a great place?  Why do we use finger prints to confirm our fear when we could use them to enhance our. Hope and excitement about. What combinations might be possible?  

Well...what finger prints are you going to. Make and leave in this time  where people might have the courage to examine identity?  Is it really necessary to get down to the finger print level?  Perhaps... because assigning  history, the present, and the possible range of futures. Based on  a mark we see today might not be a bad place to start.   

Don’t worry. Tomorrow I’m not going. To write about snow flakes  or DNA...