Start thinking about this right now. Do we only use 10 percent of our brain? That’s 10 percent of every part of our brain to perform every function in our lives. This includes reading, and other complex activities, right through to the mundane, such as breathing and feeling pain. Surely something is amiss if the old saying that we only use 10 percent of our brains is true. But it’s not true at all. We use a lot more than that.
This is an extremely popular urban legend. It has been credited as a quote to many people over time, one such person being Albert Einstein. The belief is that the average person only uses 10 percent of their brain, or maybe even 20 percent. The idea behind it is that if we were able to harness the other 80% to 90% of the brains capacity it may increase our intelligence and achievements. Could you imagine how amazing life would be today if we were five to ten times more intelligent? It would be a spectacular world to live in, without a doubt. But it’s all a myth.
According to neurologist Barry Gordon, he says this myth is actually laughable. He states that nearly all of the average persons brain is active nearly all of the time. By using modern medical imaging techniques we can actually see in real time how much of the brain is working. Gordon sights several reasons why there is no truth to this myth, among them are:
- When a person suffers brain damage, even to a small section of the brain, it will affect some part of that persons performance. Most clear examples of this are with stroke sufferers. A stroke can affect only a small section of the brain, but have huge implications for the way the body functions.
- Brain scans show that nearly all parts of our brain are always active.
- The brain consumes 20% of the bodies oxygen, yet only weighs 2% of the total body weight. If it only 10% of the brain was used it would not need as much oxygen.
- Brain cells that are not used have a tendency to degenerate. If you don’t use it, you lose it.
