Why is the allele for polydactyly considered dominant...?

[WiseIdiot]

...while alleles associated with the formation of five digits is considered recessive?

If this is the case, why are there far more individuals with five fingers than more?

[MichaelXY]

It has to do with the frequency of the allele for 6 digits. Although this is dominant, its occurance is much lower than the ressesive 5 fingers.

I think Natural selection plays a part in this phalangeal paradox.

Maybe the ones with 6 fingers could not buy gloves in the winter so they froze to death, thus reducing the 6 finger gene pool.

[alextemplet]

Not to mention that those two extra digits prevented their total fingers from syncing nicely with the base-10 number system, causing them to commit suicide when they were subjected to the rigors of calculus.

[MichaelXY]

Perhaps if they knew of the duodecimal system they could have adapted.