A Commonly Held Perception

I have often heard it said that we only use a very small percentage of our brainpower. In fact, "according to a survey from 2013, around 65 percent of Americans believe that we only use 10 percent of our brain." Some people who tout this myth do so with the motivation of selling the public methods for using more of their brain capacity. Researchers using brain imaging techniques, though, have found that "most of our brain is in use most of the time, even when a person is performing a very simple action" and "a lot of the brain is even active when a person is resting or sleeping."




Comments

  1. Mahiro AkaiApril 20, 2021 at 11:02 PM

    That's really interesting! What do you think about the beginning of this myth?

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    Replies
    1. David WoodfieldApril 28, 2021 at 3:23 PM

      Good question! An article online discusses the possible origins of the myth. It said that Dale Carnegie in his immensely popular book of 1936 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' wrote that one of his college professors used to say we only use 10% of our brains. Readers might have surmised that this statement was true as a result, and the myth could have spread from there.

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  2. Momoka ItayaApril 20, 2021 at 11:16 PM

    I completely believed that we only use 10% of our brain, so I'm surprised, to know it is not true. I do not how the wrong myth had spread to the world. Also surprised to know that we are using our brains even we are sleeping.

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    Replies
    1. David WoodfieldApril 28, 2021 at 3:25 PM

      Thanks for your comments. I guess it makes sense that our brains are active while we are asleep. They are still regulating numerous bodily processes such as breathing, circulation and so on and the fact we dream also points to their activity.

      Delete
  3. Maiko NoboriApril 21, 2021 at 12:05 AM

    I can understand that our brain is active even when we are sleeping because I sometimes feel tired when I get up in the morning. But I don't know why it is. And I want to know when brain take rests.

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    Replies
    1. David WoodfieldApril 28, 2021 at 3:32 PM

      I suppose the heart can rest when we aren't doing vigorous exercise and likewise the brain can rest when we aren't doing 'mental gymnastics,' when we aren't applying it to solve complex problems etc. Naturally both keep on functioning in the background, though.

      Delete

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