Since we lose skin everyday, why do the fingerprints not change over time? if I have a cut in the finger will the new grown skin have the same pattern?
Cuts/scars do leave marks on the fingerprints. But there’s still many other unique landmarks they can count and use for identification.
Interesting that people who rough up their hands working have less easily identifiable prints. But, I’d guess a new, more legible prints could be taken if they were in jail for awhile?
I’ve wondered about guitar players. They build up thick callus after years of playing.
Because the part of your skin that actually grows has a unique pattern that was established early in your development. There is no reason that wear on the dead surface layer of your skin would change the deeper, living parts.
Not after years. It’s fairly rapid thing. However, if your fingering is correct the callus will be found on the very tip of the finger and will not affect the area that leaves a fingerprint. This is, of course, also true for other string instruments as well, not only guitars.
What would happen if you actually peeled off the skin? would they grow back identical to the original set? How thick a layer(s) of skin would need to be removed? Could you change your fingerprints by having the skin deeply surgically removed (Perhaps in stages, over time)?
You can also lose your fingerprints from non-use as some quadriplegics have found out.
Some people’s fingerprints are very thin to begin with. My wife had to get fingerprinted on three separate occasions because they could not get a good lift on them.
When I was doing archeology in college and washing all the potsherds buy rubbing in water, it caused all my fingertips to be smooth. No ridges whatsoever. They came back a couple of weeks after stopping. probably could do the same thing by rubbing on very fine sandpaper. Something to think about before my next crime spree.