How Much Brain Do You Really Use?

You’ve probably heard the bit about how we only use 10% of our brain, an idea I’ve long thought was nonsensical.

ZME Science points out how some research was most likely misinterpreted to come up with that idea. The research found that rats could relearn tasks even when parts of their brains were removed is one of the possible areas where such a misinterpretation could have occurred.

I’ve never understood how people can so easily believe that so much of the brain is just wasted. Even if you assume they’re talking about simple information processing and not including autonomic processes.

As the article notes, brain scans show activity in all parts of the brain. Not a huge dead area.

Certainly many people don’t use their mind to its full potential. We get lazy and don’t learn new things sometimes. It’s been shown that keeping the brain active throughout life has a benefit in old age. But sometimes it’s easy to be lazy and not try to learn new skills or work on things that make you think a little harder than usual. But once you get into the habit, it’s fun.

And certainly uses more than 10%.

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