DO WE REALLY USE ONLY 10 PERCENT OF OUR BRAINS?

Psychologists in the early twentieth century commented
that humans use only 10 percent of their brains, and Albert
Einstein also indicated that humans use only a small portion
of the brain It’s a theory that has been propounded in television
documentaries, magazines, advertisements and books
over the past century Psychics have also latched on to it as
a possible explanation for paranormal behavior, attributing
unusual incidents to the workings of the unused portion of
the brain They profess that 90 percent of the brain consists
of untapped potential that is capable of remarkable feats
Nearly all scientists now agree that the theory that we
use only 10 percent of our total brain function is completely
unfounded In fact, they question how this figure
was arrived at in the first place and what areas of the brain
are supposed to be redundant The theory supposes that if
90 percent of the brain were removed, a person would still
be able to function normally, whereas in reality it is known
that damage to even a small area of the brain can result in
physical devastation
In addition, most significant disorders of the brain
involve only a small and very specific area of the brain If
the 10 percent argument was true, it’s unlikely that so many
problems would persistently occur in that area And if we
use only 10 percent of our nerves and neurons in the brain,
how would this be measured? Indeed, imaging of the brain
in scans shows that all parts of the brain are used for different
activities and that many areas of the brain are used for
some complex activities or thought processes Throughout
the course of one day, most areas of the brain are active at
some time, even during sleep The 10 percent theory suggests
that a discrete area of the brain is not used, whereas
scans reveal activity throughout the entire brain and not in
any isolated segment The final nail in the 10 percent theory
is the fact that neurosurgeons carefully map the brain before
removing tumors so that they don’t compromise other
essential areas
From an evolutionary perspective, it’s highly unlikely
that our comparatively larger brains would have evolved
from our ancestors if the extra areas were surplus to requirements
In fact, there is absolutely no evidence to support the
10 percent theory.