The Importance Of Brain Mythology

One of the long lived brain myths is one that states the average person only uses 10% of their available brain power. This myth refuses to die simply because it would be nice to believe it was true, that you have this reserve of brainpower just waiting to be accessed, a wealth of knowledge and problem solving potential that, if tapped into, would create a superhuman, with incredible powers and unmatched intelligence. This myth is one that is so widespread, that it even lives in the minds of psychology students and well-educated people. In a study conducted, one third of psychology majors believed the 10% myth (Clay, 1998) Another study showed that 59% of college educated people in Brazil, also believed the myth, along with 6% of neuroscientists (Herculano-Houzel, 2002). The perpetuation of the myth is believed in large part due to continuous marketing of products that claim

Two other firmly established principles of neuroscience create further problems for the 10% myth. Areas of the brain that are unused because of injuries or disease tend to do one of two things. They either wither away, or “degenerate”, as neuroscientists put it, or they’re taken over by nearby areas that are on the lookout for the unused territory to colonize for their own purposes. Either way, perfectly good, unused brain tissue is unlikely to remain on the sidelines for long.

In summary, the myth of 10% brain usage, is clearly untrue, with the lack of any clear evidence to support it, and a preponderance of scientific facts and established neuroscience principles available to disprove it, this is a myth that can quickly and simply be put to rest, it is a theory of those that wish to use it for profit against those that have developed less than 10% of their intellectual