Using Only 10% of Our Brains?
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I am sure most people have heard the saying we only use 10% of our brain. Researchers chime in and tell us that we actually use all of it. Methinks they miss the point. That point being we are only using it to 10% of its actual capability, as opposed to just using 10% of the brain itself.
For example look at a gasoline powered car. It uses all of the gas in its tank (100%) but it burns it very inefficiently (much less than 100%).
But anyway does anyone else have any thoughts on this?
I am sure most people have heard the saying we only use 10% of our brain. Researchers chime in and tell us that we actually use all of it. Methinks they miss the point. That point being we are only using it to 10% of its actual capability, as opposed to just using 10% of the brain itself.
For example look at a gasoline powered car. It uses all of the gas in its tank (100%) but it burns it very inefficiently (much less than 100%).
But anyway does anyone else have any thoughts on this?
posted by Joe G @ 10:45 AM
2 Comments:
At 12:28 PM,
Tantalus Prime said…
It seems this myth started in the early 20th century, with estimations of neuronal populations in the brain (glia outnumber neurons about 10 to 1 in humans), lesion studies in animals, and studies of prodigies as well as individuals with hydrocephalia/microcephalia. The 10% seems to be, at its source, based on early anatomical and physiological studies which have since been rejected.
The idea that most of our brain is idleing most of the time or that it has low efficiency is intriguing but difficult to measure. For example sensory processing and postural adjustment are essential baseline brain functions that occur largely without conscious recognition and may give the appearance that the brain is not doing anything until we are asked to perform a task.
Heat production may seem to be a good measure of energy inefficiency, but since humans are warm-blooded some have hypothesized that a secondary function of the brain is that of a heat source, meaning that energy isn't really wasted.
Even when brain temperature increases during high activity (from 37 to 40) that increase changes the efficiency of biochemical cascades, and consequently may not accurately reflect a decrease in efficiency.
With muscles it is easy to measure. Glucose consumption to work output gives about a 20% efficiency figure. But how do you measure the work output of cognition? I haven't the foggiest.
At 2:07 PM,
Joe G said…
I agree- how the heck can someone say we are only using 10% of our brain's capability?
However that is also the part I find intriguing. What if it is true? What can we do about it? And what happens when we are all using 100% of its capabilities?
We know of exercises to increase muscle strength. Perhaps there are some undiscovered exercises to increase our brain's output.
All that said your point is made- when I first heard of this 10% thingy we just reasoned it pertained to capabilities and not physical anatomy (back in the 70s). We understood that people using more than 10% were the telekinetics, clairvoyants, clairaudiants and clairsentients. Or more recently the Q continuum ;).
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