While in class the other day, I overheard two classmates having a conversation about the new, highly acclaimed movie, Limitless.
They were discussing the movie and how it pertains to how as humans,we only use 10 percent of our brains.
The human brain is very complex. With all the functions that it can perform, it’s no surprise that it remains a bit of a mystery to us.
And with all it’s complexity and mystery, comes one of the biggest misconceptions about the human brain—we “only” use 10 percent of our brains.
For some reason, many people believe that as human beings, we are solely capable of using 10 percent of our brains.
Adding to the widely acknowledged myth, it is believed that using more than 10 percent, can actually lead to supernatural brain capabilities like possessing telekinetic powers.
How the myth became to be.
According to Barry Gordon, a neurologists at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, the myth derives from people’s own misconceptions about their brains.
People see their own limitations as evidence that our brains that aren’t being used to their full capacity.
The facts
The idea that we only use 10 percent of our brains is false.
According to Scientific American, “. . . At any given moment all of the brain’s regions are not concurrently firing, brain researchers using imaging technology have shown that, like the body’s muscles, most are continually active over a 24-hour period. Evidence would show over a day you use 100 percent of the brain.”
However, it is known that while at rest, we may solely be using 10 percent of our brains which makes sense. While resting, we aren’t using as much energy as we do when we are alert, focused and learning.
It’s also a fact that as powerful as the brain is, we don’t use all 100 percent of it at the same time.
So when it feels as though you you’re unable to achieve something, it’s not because you can only use 10 percent of your brain.
As human begins, we have been known to conquer what has seemed to be impossible and it’s all thanks to using our brain—all 100 percent of it!
