51 replies to this topic

[Areze]

I heard somewhere that we only use 10% or so of our brain. If this is true, what do you thing we are capable of with full use? I don't really believe this, but some say there are signs of 'seeing' what is going on at the present time in other places in the world, and that it will be amplified as time goes on. Kinda like watching the news with no TV involved. What do you think?

[Alias]

If we used our brains any more, I'd think that everyone would be dead by 20 due to stroke. The more the brain works, the more energy it needs. The more energy it needs, the harder our other organs have to work. So in theory, if our brain worked harder then it does already, we'd die much faster due to fewer conditions.

[Chyros]

Be glad you only use 10%. If you'd you use all of it, you might lose some kind of bodily function every time you inhaled cigarette smoke, drank anything with alcohol in it, etc. And as Alias said; "The more the brain works, the more energy it needs." . since the brain is extremely picky about what kind of fuel it accepts (glucose and only glucose), our lives would consist of absolutely nothing but eating as much as we could to keep our brains from starving. And why would you need more brain power then?

[Whitey]

Glucose tablets wouldn't be too hard to make methinks. 5kg glucose tablets...

[Foxhound]

I'm really resisting the urge to make Yuri and overclocking jokes.

But it would be interesting to see what humanity would be like if it used even 30%. They say Einstein himself only used, at the most, 15%.

[Dauth]

One of seven medical myths with no evidence, please read article

http://uk.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughN...lBrandChannel=0

old myth with lots of time behind it, definatly worth ignoring.

[Mathias]

I hate that goddamn myth. It's partly because nobody understood the role of glial braincells, and has just stuck around like a pest in popular culture and even information passed from parents to children, etc. We ARE using 100% of our brains most of the time. People who aren't are physically brain damaged.

[Dauth]

Yea. You have to use more than 10% or lesioning out 1 1/2 pounds of grey gristle would become the new way to lose weight without losing functionality or being called anorexic.

[CodeCat]

Actually, it's nothing to do with glial cells. 10% of the actual neurons are firing at any time. And that's a good thing. Because if it was any higher you wouldn't get any smarter or anything, you'd get a seizure.

[Areze]

CodeCat, on 24 Dec 2007, 7:40, said:

Actually, it's nothing to do with glial cells. 10% of the actual neurons are firing at any time. And that's a good thing. Because if it was any higher you wouldn't get any smarter or anything, you'd get a seizure.

Yep. This is what I'm talking about, the neurons.

Also, for argument's sake, lets say as the mind becomes 'beefier' that the body becomes more efficient at storing energy for it.

[Mathias]

CodeCat, on 24 Dec 2007, 13:40, said:

Actually, it's nothing to do with glial cells. 10% of the actual neurons are firing at any time. And that's a good thing. Because if it was any higher you wouldn't get any smarter or anything, you'd get a seizure.

In the version of the myth I was told, one believes there is a permanently inactive portion of brain matter which could be utilized without any repercussions. Partly consisting of glial matter and other non-synaptic gray goo.

Quote

Also, for argument's sake, lets say as the mind becomes 'beefier' that the body becomes more efficient at storing energy for it.

I don't think the problem is that the body can't support that much neural activity, rather, it is what becomes of the brain if all the neurons fire wildly.

Edited by Mathias, 24 December 2007 - 22:18.

[Z_mann]

Please explain the term of "using". If you meant the usage your entire body does, then its most certainly using the entire brain(s). If, however, you refer to conscious activities, then it's probably a lot less. Most of the entire brain mass controls autonomous systems, and maps the muscle nerves endings.

[smooder]

I've heard that hallucenegenic drugs make you use more of your brain, hence the halucinations and time slowing dowen.

Also adrenalin is suppposed to do the same... hence the slow motion stuff.

You only use 30% of your muscle mass and that is proven. Adrenelin helps you use moar thats why mothers can overflip cars when their kid is trapped underneath it.

[Kris]

We use 100% of our brain, If we didn't, Some of our bodily functions or some other parts of our body or our subconscious (the evil voice in the head ) would have failed entirely. Also, Adrenalin is there so we can survive in "harsh" environment, Its part of natural survival instincts.

[Mathias]

Z_mann, on 24 Dec 2007, 23:49, said:

Please explain the term of "using". If you meant the usage your entire body does, then its most certainly using the entire brain(s). If, however, you refer to conscious activities, then it's probably a lot less. Most of the entire brain mass controls autonomous systems, and maps the muscle nerves endings.

Does it even matter? It's a retarded myth and the meat of the discussion lies elsewhere.

[Futschki]

well no, we don't use 100% of our brain obviously .. that explains why some are good in maths and bad in history for example or good in arts and bad in other things, and that's why some are very good in a matter and very bad in others

[Mathias]

That doesn't have anything to do with how much of your brain you use. Rather, it's about how it's wired up.

[CoLT]

I think this argument depends on what it means by "using" our brains. Obviously our entire mind cannot be devoted to conscious thought because the brain still needs to control our bodily functions such as heartbeat and breathing.

[Futschki]

well Mathias ... that's the meaning of using 10% of the brain ...

[Golan]

Eh, no it´s not. 10% of the brain is 10% of the brain, doesn´t matter how or how efficiently you use it. Yeah, people like to be dumb, but that doesn´t mean that they really don´t use their brain at all, it´s just not in a sensible way.

[thinimus]

The whole brain is constantly in action. It's the reason why you have dreams sometimes. Even during sleep, the brain has to continue working as it can only retain information by sending signals back and forth. Also, even if you don't dream, there's still plenty of action going on.

It's kinda like RAM. It has to be energized or else it can't retain data. Even while energized, bits are stored as continuously moving currents of electricity in circuits.

What the "10%" statement refers to the fact that our body on average only supports about 10% of brain's possible maximum information processing performance.

There are a number of issues involved as to why that is:

The brain uses up a lot of chemical energy during the day, about 21 times that of comparable average muscle tissue mass. Being that the brain is chemically powered like anything else in the body, it produces chemical and thermal waste which has to be disposed of, processes themselves which also use chemical energy.

Realistically, it's actually beneficial that your body doesn't try to use 100%. You'd pass out and die from stress.

There are times when you do go beyond that average 10%. Usually when you are active and putting effort towards something, whether thinking hard or performing physical tasks. (This is where that term "In The Zone" comes from).

Something interesting about the human brain and the body. The reason why people started walking on two legs was because doing so required less energy and the changed geometry of the body allowed for the increased cooling needed to sustain a larger and more powerful brain.

Proportionally, having longer and skinnier limbs increase the volume to surface area of the skin, hence better cooling. (Also why less hair is needed). Another thing is standing upright naturally exposes less of your body to the sun. At high sun, heat beats down on say a dog or horse's back while a person has only his head and shoulders. (That's also why we have most of our hair on our heads and around only where the brain would be closest to the surface on the scalp. It's insulation from the sun's rays and from extreme cold).

Edited by thinimus, 27 December 2007 - 23:20.

[Nerdsturm]

What I've heard is that this myth orginated from the large areas of the cerebral cortex dedicated to associative tasks, in which neurons only fire at very specific stimuli. Therefore, when psychologists first started to measure activity in the brain they never saw any activity in those areas.

[Overdose]

Didn't Einstein say if mankind were only capable of using 30% of our brains we'd no longer need bodies?

[Amdrial]

Well, where would the brains get their Glucose from if it didn't have a body to feed it?

[Shirou]

I think this issue lies more, way more personal. You use your brains the way you are used to using them. Might sound weird eh? Well, it has been proven that the brain can be trained and the memory-champions of today say that anyone can have a photographic memory.

I will define usage of the brain as it's ''potential'', just like the max weight a strongest' man can carry in his life, our brain can be trained.

I think that there could be a percentage of ''potential'' unused with normal people, and that it could be trained to make the brain function better.