Use It or Lose It
The human brain is the most complex, fascinating, and mysterious thing in the universe, and it has been studied since ancient times. The aura of mystery surrounding it has led over time to several misconceptions including the percentage of the brain we use at any given time. Albeit there is no scientific evidence, the commonly held notion is that humans use only the ten percent of their brain is the most diffuse among neuromyths. The lesser know reality is that we have access to our full brain potential. Throughout human history, rumors and exaggerated stories spread like wildfire. They seem to be related to human fears, and the collective effort to manage them. The fallacies involved are Irrational Appeal to Common Belief, …show more content…
According to an online survey, sponsored by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, almost 65 percent of Americans believe this statement is true ("New Survey”). The belief’s origins are unsure, but it seems to be the result of the misinterpretation of scientists’ theories about the unexpressed human potential. It has been attributed to William James, who stated in his dissertation The Energies of Men, "We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources" (James 12). One of the earliest sources could be, also, the misinterpretation the work Jean Pierre Flourens, one of the founding fathers of the modern cognitive sciences, inventor of anesthesia and the pioneer of the brain 's hemispheres …show more content…
In the attempts to quantify the relationship between brain mass and function, Lashley removed large areas of the cerebral cortex in rats and pigeons, and found that they could still perform specific tasks. It must be said that media play their part in spreading and keeping the myth alive.
In reality, humans use one hundred percent of their brain. From the perspective of neuroscience, being the brain shaped by nature, it is unlikely that the brain contains unused portions. The brain is a metabolically expensive organ. Although it represents a small fraction of our body’s weight, the brain uses about twenty percent of the body’s energy. Consequently, it is not credible that such an energetically expensive organ underutilizes the great part of itself. Evolutionarily, everything that is not functioning properly or no longer useful is naturally expelled from the body: use it or lose it (Peck
The human brain is the most complex, fascinating, and mysterious thing in the universe, and it has been studied since ancient times. The aura of mystery surrounding it has led over time to several misconceptions including the percentage of the brain we use at any given time. Albeit there is no scientific evidence, the commonly held notion is that humans use only the ten percent of their brain is the most diffuse among neuromyths. The lesser know reality is that we have access to our full brain potential. Throughout human history, rumors and exaggerated stories spread like wildfire. They seem to be related to human fears, and the collective effort to manage them. The fallacies involved are Irrational Appeal to Common Belief, …show more content…
According to an online survey, sponsored by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, almost 65 percent of Americans believe this statement is true ("New Survey”). The belief’s origins are unsure, but it seems to be the result of the misinterpretation of scientists’ theories about the unexpressed human potential. It has been attributed to William James, who stated in his dissertation The Energies of Men, "We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources" (James 12). One of the earliest sources could be, also, the misinterpretation the work Jean Pierre Flourens, one of the founding fathers of the modern cognitive sciences, inventor of anesthesia and the pioneer of the brain 's hemispheres …show more content…
In the attempts to quantify the relationship between brain mass and function, Lashley removed large areas of the cerebral cortex in rats and pigeons, and found that they could still perform specific tasks. It must be said that media play their part in spreading and keeping the myth alive.
In reality, humans use one hundred percent of their brain. From the perspective of neuroscience, being the brain shaped by nature, it is unlikely that the brain contains unused portions. The brain is a metabolically expensive organ. Although it represents a small fraction of our body’s weight, the brain uses about twenty percent of the body’s energy. Consequently, it is not credible that such an energetically expensive organ underutilizes the great part of itself. Evolutionarily, everything that is not functioning properly or no longer useful is naturally expelled from the body: use it or lose it (Peck