Only a small percent of the human brain is actually used...

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   Seek-n-Findposted 13 years ago

   I saw the movie "Limitless" last night.  I've thought about this before, but I was wondering what your thoughts are on the ability to unlock  and use a greater capacity of the human brain.  The statistic I think I heard before is that we use about 20%.  Do you think humans used to be able to access more of their brain?  Do you think there is a way to access more of our brain today?  And if so, how do you think that would change our human experience?

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      SimeyCposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      There are various arguments about this on the web and in the scientific world. Brain Scans have proven that at some point the majority of the brain is actually used although at some given point in time only 20% may be in use.
      
      It's one of the most contested scientific questions of all!

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         Seek-n-Findposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         It this is one of the most contested scientific arguments of all...then this should end up being quite an interesting forum!  :-)

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            A Troubled Manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            And yet, it isn't a contested scientific argument at all. It is in fact a laughable myth.
            
            "Though an alluring idea, the "10 percent myth" is so wrong it is almost laughable, says neurologist Barry Gordon at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. Although there's no definitive culprit to pin the blame on for starting this legend, the notion has been linked to the American psychologist and author William James, who argued in The Energies of Men that "We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources." It's also been associated with to Albert Einstein, who supposedly used it to explain his cosmic towering intellect.
            
            The myth's durability, Gordon says, stems from people's conceptions about their own brains: they see their own shortcomings as evidence of the existence of untapped gray matter. This is a false assumption. What is correct, however, is that at certain moments in anyone's life, such as when we are simply at rest and thinking, we may be using only 10 percent of our brains.
            
            "It turns out though, that we use virtually every part of the brain, and that [most of] the brain is active almost all the time," Gordon adds. "Let's put it this way: the brain represents three percent of the body's weight and uses 20 percent of the body's energy."
            
            

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               SimeyCposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               It's contested by Psychics all over the world
               
               And a lot of scientists say that labelling the 10% statement as a myth is also misleading!
               
               What do I think? 'If I only had a brain'!

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                  Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  What "scientists"?
                  
                  The 10% nonsense went out when we realized how hard it is to make a computer with even the brain power of a worm, never mind a large mammal.
                  
                  Any "scientist" who contests that is an idiot.

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                  A Troubled Manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  <--- coveted double laughie
                  
                  
                  
                  What scientists?

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                     Nouveau Skepticposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Pretty much an scientist who has read the research and looked at the scans of people's brains responding to different inputs. (Including me, an experimental psychologist).

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      A Troubled Manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      That is a myth. Humans use all of their brains capacity and functionality.

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         melporposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         TroubleMan is right, we use all of our brain. This is a misconception.  How can you use just a part of your brain?

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            couturepopcafeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Lack of neural pathways which deliver information via electrical currents.  Alzheimer's sufferers are an extreme example of brain neural deficiency but many people fall in the grey area (no pun intended) and cannot understand why, no matter what they try, they can't seem to 'get it together'.

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   ThomasRydderposted 13 years ago

   That's absolutely incorrect..how can you parallel the brain usage of someone who achieves a doctorate with one who digs ditches for a living? (with apologies to ditch diggers).

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      A Troubled Manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      LOL! You're confusing an education with a lack of education, which has nothing to do with human brain functionality.

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         ThomasRydderposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         No, I'm not...I'm saying the person who achieved the doctorate used more of his brain than someone who is a high school grad...

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            A Troubled Manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Now, you're confusing effort to get an education with no effort to get an education.

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               ThomasRydderposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Nope...effort doesn't have anything to do with it. That's lack of initiative or funds or guidance. Scenario 1. A person goes to school, pursues an education, achieves a doctorate, goes on to be a surgeon. Scenario 2. A person attends high school, graduates with average grades, gets a job as a burger flipper at mickey d's. Taking all the little avenues like effort and those other convenients escapes away, the surgeon brain is utilized MUCH more than the drive up window guy.

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                  Mikel G Robertsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  -or- A guy gets a highschool education and can't get anything but a job in the U.S. Patent Office...
                  
                  -or- A guy barely gets through highschool, but at 9 years old writes a symphony that to this day is considered one of the greatest in human history...
                  
                  -or- A guy is a lowly carpenter that never went to college at all and changes the world with the thoughts of his "under-used" brain...
                  
                  -or- A guy goes to college gets a degree and can't even read...
                  
                  
                  I believe your self-image/self-esteem must be based on your degree or lack there of.

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                     A Troubled Manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     So, how did he get the degree?

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                        Mikel G Robertsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Paid someone that can read... Cheated while he was really really good at sports.

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                           A Troubled Manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           Sorry, I don't buy that fairy tale.

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                     ThomasRydderposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Ahhh...so we attack my self-esteem or supposed lack of self-esteem or education in lieu of an intelligent argument....what splendid technique

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                     ThomasRydderposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     example one might be a result of the economy
                     example two someone who discovered their calling later in life
                     example three-Jesus Christ is the Son of God...he has an advantage
                     example four-that guy didn't apply himself.
                     
                     Summary-none of these even address the subject at hand. Go find another conversation that deals with the economy or career planning.

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                        Mikel G Robertsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Summary-none of these even address the subject at hand. Go find another conversation that deals with the economy or career planning.
                        
                        Yes Sir!
                        
                        On my way... where is that hand salute smiley when I need him???

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                        Mikel G Robertsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Einstein is example one, did he use less of his brain than a surgeon?
                        
                        Mozart was example two, did he use less of his brain?
                        
                        
                        
                        
                        
                        This guy is an example of the many professional athletes that have come out of colleges in the U.S. They applied themselves at thier sports, does that mean they have used less of thier brain? I think not.
                        
                        
                        ***Try and keep up there Thomas.

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                  A Troubled Manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  And, nothing to do with brain functionality. Sure, there are lots of reasons why people don't get an education. But, to say one person uses 20% of their brains while another uses something else is pure baloney.
                  
                  
                  
                  I fail to see your reasoning regarding the original claim? Again, you are confused.

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                     ThomasRydderposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     I'm not confused in the least. Ok...lets change the scenario. One...a person does the same as stated above. The doctorate, the careerr, blah blah. Now...backtrack...that SAME person goes to high school, graduates, and spends the rest of his days serviing in a restaurant....which picture uses more of his brain?

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                        Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        I don't know.  The person waiting tables might have to be more agile negotiating around tables and customers while  balancing plates, remembering orders, keeping track of who is likely to be finishing up, and so on.  That could take considerably more brain effort than typing out a white paper.
                        
                        Or consider those strange math savants who contort themselves in seeming agony as they multiply six digit numbers in their heads but don't know how to drive a car.  What is their brain doing?

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                           ThomasRydderposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           you may well be right...I can't argue that point at all. But the argument isn't who uses more...it's whether or not some use theirs more than others. And I absolutely think that some do.

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                              Nouveau Skepticposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              I don't think abstract thought necessarily uses the brain "more" than manual labor, social inter-actions or concrete problem solving.

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                              Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              Sure.  Athletes probably use far more of their brain than scientists.  Artists probably do also.  Creative daydreamers might too.
                              
                              Do you know that well conditioned muscles work more efficiently than weak, flabby muscles?  Someone out of shape might exert far more effort lifting a 50 lb weight that I would lifting three times that.
                              
                              Our brains are surely the same.  For some, writing a comprehensible English sentence is a struggle - no doubt they may use a lot of "brain power" to create a hub here.  For others, the words just flow as easily as turning on a tap.  They are probably using far less, but more efficiently.

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                                 couturepopcafeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                                 I think this comparison is fair.  Larger muscles work more efficiently (up to a point) and larger brains - not by volume but by number of synapses that are actually firing - work more efficiently.

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            couturepopcafeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Not necessarily, Thomas.  The high school student may be using as much voltage at his age and level as the grad student is using at his.

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   barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

   you can imagine the madness if every part of the brain was activated at once

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   Greek Oneposted 13 years ago

   all my neurons are always firing at a 100% clip...
   
   except when I'm watching a hockey game on TV..
   
   during which, they are in 'rest mode'.... much like a politician's.

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   ThomasRydderposted 13 years ago

   oh, and by the way, mikel...don't bother taking pot shots at my self esteem and education. Both are hail and hearty and neither are threatened by your lack of decorum or ability to adhere to the subject at hand. Say something intelligent, or nothing at all..if you please.

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   couturepopcafeposted 13 years ago

   When we look at BEAM (brain electrical activity map) scans, we see varying degrees of activity.  BEAMs assess electrical transmissions by measuring the four individual brain waves and brain wave combinations. 
   
   The first measure of brain health is voltage which determines the brains electrical power.  The second measure is speed recorded in milliseconds.  The third measure is rhythm and the fourth measure is synchrony.
   
   The brain is able to do what it does through electrical charges but is useless without the neural pathways (neurons, dendrites)that actually transmit information in the form of an electrical current.
   
   If someone is missing one or more of the four primary biochemicals that make up the brain's code, brain waves suffer.
   
   So in the case of the achiever vs the underachiever, Beethoven the child vs Mikey the nosepicker, it's simply a matter of brain chemistry.
   
   Assuming all brain chemistry is in balance, beyond that, we can challenge our brains with tasks that are new to it.  That doesn't mean if you like to cook you should try a new recipe.  It means learning something completely outside our comfort zone.  New pathways will grow over time and the brain will become more efficient.
   
   The med school student may not be challenging his brain any more than the surfer, the fry cook or the reader.  What matters is the degree to which this is a new challenge to the brain.

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      couturepopcafeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Medications, hormones, diet, lifestyle and environment can all effect brain function.

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      Mikel G Robertsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Nice.
      
      
      
      
      ...Mikey the nose-picker???

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         couturepopcafeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Sorry, I didn't mean you.  I guess I meant Cromagnum Man. (sp.?)

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            Mikel G Robertsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            
            
            
            
            I was joking (no offense taken) I simply thought it funny.

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