Thursday, August 6, 2015

The 10% Myth And The 90% Logic

Through the passed few decades scientists have made countless discoveries in the field of neuroscience.  However, still today the belief that humans are capable of accessing a mere tenth of what is floating in our skulls also remains floating around.  This myth has created beliefs such as the existence of certain special abilities such as ESP, as well as birthing the profession of Psychic Mediums.

Though it has not been actually proven that this myth of having access to only ten percent of our brains, is actually a myth, enough significant research has been revealed to note how massively unlikely it is that it is true.  For example, it is known that each portion of the brain is responsible of different tasks, such as the motor cortex which controls body movement.  In addition, the text "Scientific Perspectives on Pseudoscience and the Paranormal" by Timothy J. Lawson mentions that muscles "atrophy' after lack of use for an extended period of time.  In other words, if we did not use the other ninety percent of our brains, then it would die out and we would be left with ONLY the ten percent.

Overall, the actual truth can not yet be determined, but the facts dramatically tip the scale in favor of this myth remaining so.



Lawson, Timothy. J. (2007) Scientific Perspectives on Pseudoscience and the Paranormal. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Pearson Education.




1 comment:

  1. The brain is the body’s control center. It constantly receives and interprets nerve signals from the body and responds based on this information. Different parts of the brain control movement, speech, emotions, consciousness and internal body functions, such as heart rate, breathing and body temperature.
    http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/brain-spinal/anatomy-and-physiology/?region=on#ixzz3i68FbQtc

    Where Did the 10% Myth Begin?
    The 10% statement may have been started with a misquote of Albert Einstein or the misinterpretation of the work of Pierre Flourens in the 1800s. It may have been William James who wrote in 1908: "We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources. Perhaps it was the work of Karl Lashley in the 1920s and 1930s that started it. Lashley removed large areas of the cerebral cortex in rats and found that these animals could still relearn specific tasks. We now know that destruction of even small areas of the human brain can have devastating effects on behavior. https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html
    The function of the brain has pathways , motor and sensory these pathways allow the person to move and feel sensation. The working of the brain is spontaneous and works 24/7. What the person does with this activity may be the origin of the 10 % theory
    Still, functional brain imaging studies show that all parts of the brain function. Even during sleep, the brain is active. The brain is still being "used” it is just in a different active state.
    "We use 100% of our brains." When we want to 
    https://youtu.be/DfgkAJmp9-A

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