Plain arch 



Tented arch 



Loop 



Loop 



Plain whorl Central pocket loop 



FINGERPRINTS AS DISTINCTIVE AS FACES 



Double loop 



Federal Bureau of Investigation 

 Accidental 



Details so small as ordinarily to escape notice show such variations that they serve 

 as a most dependable means of identifying particular individuals — whether they are 

 criminals wanted by the police or kidnaped businessmen wanted by their families 



Two fish may be of exactly the same size, or two leaves on a tree of the 

 same length, just as a hundred girls may all weigh exactly ninety-nine 

 pounds. Yet each is unique. For however much alike they may be in two 

 or three or ten characteristics, they still differ in vastly more details. We are 

 able to distinguish one from the others, in spite of many resemblances. 



The fine skin ridges on the tips of our thumbs and fingers are so distinct 

 that they are generally used for reliable identification of individuals (see 

 illustration above). We do not, of course, recognize our friends by these 

 unique marks, nor do we take any special pride in our own unique patterns. 

 That is to say, being unique is not necessarily a source either of satisfaction 

 or of chagrin: in many respects it just doesn't matter. 



Every living thing is thus a unique combination of particular characters 

 or qualities. Among human beings, however, the individual is conscious of 

 himself as a person. We consider the uniqueness of the human individual 

 important, whereas we do not consider the uniqueness to be important to 

 the individual oyster or fly, for example. The unique combination might 

 be— and actually is— altered without affecting what we value in personality 

 or individuality. 



73 



