eli5 Why does the hand automatically rest in a „claw“ position

Question

If I’m resting somewhere and my hand is laying on its back the hands automatically form a claw if not manually corrected to lying flat. Why is this? Why isn’t it automatically flat?

In: 10

Answer 1

“Flat” is with the muscles that straighten the fingers at maximum contraction, not their rest state.

Since the “make a fist” grip muscles are vastly stronger they tend to dominate when neither one is asked to do any work and pull you into that claw.