Palm reading, also known as chiromancy, is a historical practice that can be traced back to Ancient times. The name comes from the word "cheir" which is greek for hand. The idea of palm reading is that the lines on ones palm represent details about their personality and life. The palm can be split into three parts: fingers, middle of the palm, and lower palm. The fingers represent the mind, the middle of the palm is said to be the everyday life experiences, and the lower palm shows the health of the person.
The idea that a person's hand can be read to determine these aspects of a person makes palmistry pseudoscience. There is no evidence that proves that there is actually any scientific basis. Even Sarah Larsen, a 3rd generation palm reader, explains how palm reading is pseudoscience. Although she attempts to claim that it is also science, that is contradicting in itself. People assume that because they are being told something about their life or personality that there has to be a way it fits in. They simply assume there is a connection when there is not. A palm reader will give a general reading that could fit for most people therefore to most it seems right. Naturally, our brains are a pattern seeking organ; we have evolved to look for patterns. The idea of missing a pattern is more haunting, so to speak, than assigning a pattern although it may be a false positive. Palm reading is just one aspect of pseudoscience that feeds off this very idea.
Sarah Larsen "Official Palm Reading":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv7FVKZx3MQ
Sources:
http://www.skepticink.com/gps/2013/10/14/palm-reading-science-or-pseudoscience/
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