Answerer

Hi guys, I have quite a stupid question to ask some of the experts here about a biological phenomenon, so please bear with me. My question was simply: Why do we use only 5% of our brain and if we are to make full use or 100% of our brain, will we become super-intelligent?

Daggah

Answerer, the answer is simple:

Let's start with a rhetorical question. Do you think you could link to a *single* scientific peer-reviewed paper that supports your statement that we use "about 5%" of our brains?

The answer is no. The 5%/10%/whatever is a myth. Scientists have observed electrical activity in all parts of our brains - we use all of our brain.

Answerer

Do you have some links? I don't know that this is a myth.

Daggah

<a href="http://www.snopes2.com/science/stats/10percnt.htm" target="_blank">Do we really use only 10% of our brains?</a>

(Snopes)

Vorkosigan

Moved to science forum.

parkdalian

There are scientific papers out there that deal with brain redundancy. I doubt anyone uses all of their brain as there would be serious problems developing in our twenties as we lose brain cells. We do have a finite number of neurons after all.

There have been studies correlating brain weight and longevity (as opposed to pure performance) as well as studies (look up John Lorber, hydrocephalus on the altavista search engine, there will be about 30 hits) of hydrocephalic patients with a small fraction of brain tissue yet having high IQs and behaving normally.

Although I am a skeptic by nature, I really think the skeptical literature has missed the boat on this issue, themselves inadvertently perpetuating an orthodox myth. I realize they were doing this do debunk mystical claims, but the answer is more complicated than 10 percent brain use being a pure myth. A better skeptical answer might be that we use a fraction of our brain with the rest as much needed backup or reserve to last a lifetime. Any claims that the unused portion can be put into service to become "super-intelligent" are simplistic in this light.

Repeat: We have a finite number of brain cells. It only makes sense that we have a reserve.

To use the old computer/brain analogy, if someone offered you a big bunch of software that would fill your hard drive as well as all your cd backup disks, would you load your PC up? Maybe you would just upgrade to a bigger hard drive but it still would not make your computer faster, in fact all that new software would probably slow it down and make it lock up more.

And, unfortunately, we can't upgrade and replace our skulls.

Veil of Fire

That snopes article is complete bullshit.

It's one giant Appeal to Ridicule. There's no substance, no claim, no evidence.. and if he's 100% right, car crash victims who get the entire left half of their brain scooped out with a melon baller should die instantly, right?

He's got nothing to back him up. He points to no hard evidence, quotes no experts, presents no research. All he says is "You believe that? Hah! You're stupid!"

[edit: Although, it really shouldn't be surprising... look at who the article is attributed to. And you people wonder why I consider some of those organizations to be bigger frauds than the frauds they purport to uncover]

[ June 08, 2002: Message edited by: Veil of Fire ]</p>

Liquidrage

VOF,

I disagree with your conclusion.
The article, while not overly detailed, did put forth a testable method to determine what % of the brain is used.

From the link:
"Brain imaging research techniques such as PET scans (positron emission tomography) and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) clearly show that the vast majority of the brain does not lie fallow."

Here's another link with more detail.

<a href="http://www.brainconnection.com/topics/?main=fa/brain-myth" target="_blank">http://www.brainconnection.com/topics/?main=fa/brain-myth</a>

elwoodblues

Long, LONG story made short...

We don't know how the brain works.

Really. I'm serious. We probably know about 20% of how the brain actually operates. Another 40% is inferrence and guess-work. The rest is basically unsubstantiated bullshit. I've been studying this stuff for the last couple years in college; we just don't know as much as people seem to think.

We just don't know how the damned thing works yet. I suspect that, when it's all said and done, we'll find a LOT of redundancy there. But not a 10:1 ratio of it. Anyway, the 'redundancy' of our brain is where the plasticity comes from (we think), so it's not really 'expendable'. It's a necessary thing, not just for injuries, but for normal day-to-day operation and learning.

It's a myth. The Snopes article is being overly simplistic and is really haring off in the wrong direction, but it IS just a myth. In a narrow, weird sense, the phrase might be accurate, but not in the general sense that it always seems to be taken in.

Liquidrage

I agree with what you say however it seems you're talking about a different subject.

The myth and the original post surmise that we use only X percent of our brain.

What you seem to suggest, and rightfully so, is that we don't know enough about the brain to calculate what percent of maximum efficiency the average brain runs at.

I could be wrong but I see these as different issues.

Though you do correctly point out that there is no reason to suggest the brain only runs at 10% or any number and the myth is still a myth. Regardless of the validity of the presented counterpoints.


Good post though!