chekmate

No, he was saying that (I'm paraphrasing but) "Since we only use 10% of our brains that the other 90% was used for the supernatural, and was probably where our souls reside when we are living."

AdamWho

Another link for the myth side<a href="http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_028.html" target="_blank"> Straight Dope</a>
The site discuses the origins of the 10% myth. Straight Dope is an invaluable source!

Oops I didn't read all previous posts!

[ June 09, 2002: Message edited by: AdamWho ]</p>

Dr Rick

At any given moment we are utilizing only a fraction of the capacities or our hearts, kidneys, livers, gonads, lungs, immune systems, thyroids, adrenals, bone marrows, and more; in other words, most of our organs could be severely damaged and still continue to perform their functions adequatedly, though perhaps not optimally. Natural selection probably accounts for this reserve capacity.

Why should the appearance of reserve brain capacity be considered a quandary?

Rick

NialScorva

Veil of Fire,

On the issue of the burden of proof, keep in mind that there are two seperate arguments, not a either-or situation. If you assert that we only use 10%, then *you* must provide evidence to back it up. Those that assert we use more must support that with evidence. Either way, there has been no evidence presented for the 10%, thus it's more than appropriate to call it a myth, since it's widely believed without evidence. The much-more-than-10% position has mentioned fMRIs and evolutionary constraints that would select against a small percentage of use.

Purple Monkey Dishwasher

I heard that the myth originated from something Einstein said. But that may itself be a myth. He might've just been repeating it.

Answerer

So, are they saying that our 'souls' are made up of neurons?Haha.

Starspun

It seems many people have burned one to many brain cells in their lifetime.

Now, different parts of the brain control different aspects of our existence. If I am in motion, the portion that controls movement is active, while the parts of my brain that do not control the functions of motion would be idle.
I can not think of any normal activity that would require 100% use of our mind....well, maybe if I'm spasming around on the church floor, speaking in tongues, while eating some bread.

Undercurrent

oh no, they're like birds and need a "nest" of neurons to live in. I wonder if this person, when confronted with the fact that the 10% thing is a myth will say, "gee, I guess there's nowhere for a soul to live, then," or whether he'll just move it's preferred location to another place.

m.

P.S. I remeber reading somewhere that people used to think that the soul inhabited the brain's ventricles. Anyone else know anything about that?

[ June 10, 2002: Message edited by: Michael ]</p>

Bookman

I haven't seen any mention of <a href="http://www.skepdic.com" target="_blank">The Skeptics Dictionary</a> recently. It is another valuable resource in the skeptics on-line arsenal.

In the author's <a href="http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/suburbanmyths.html" target="_blank">list of suburban myths</a> he mentions the 10% myth and links to two other good pages on the topic from <a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html" target="_blank">The University of Washington</a> and <a href="http://www.csicop.org/si/9903/ten-percent-myth.html" target="_blank">CSICOP</a>.

Happy reading.

Bookman

MrDarwin

I'm still waiting for somebody--anybody--who believes in the 10% (or 5% or whatever) figure to produce some sort of link, article, or other evidence to back it up.