Overview: If you were to ask most people what the purpose of our arms and hands is, they would probably mention picking things up, holding onto things, carrying things, maybe hugging or pulling on things, and also expressing ourselves, as in waving or making other gestures. What they would probably not mention is standing. And if they mentioned balancing, they would most likely mean it in the sense of helping to keep us stable when we walk or run, not in the sense of balancing our entire bodies off the ground.