History says the Albert Einstein used about 12% of his brain, and he was and still is considered a genius that could come up with theories that most of us can’t even begin to understand. I think we would be capable of anything – maybe even moving things with our minds if we used all of it and understood how it all works.

Uh, oh.

I certainly can’t say or imagine what we would be capable of doing with 100% of our brains but, I do believe that some people can use a lot more than 10%. You know those people we write off as “crazies”, such as psychics or people who can do or feel or see supernatural stuff…My theory is that they tap into a part of their brains that normal people cannot use, or don’t want to use.
I believe that the 10% we do use right now will keep shrinking if we keep using technology the way we do.

@mclaugh I agree, they say a Genius is border line crazy, Newton used to lock himself in his room for months on end and pace the floors trying to figure out mathematical problems..

One advantage to technology would be the internet, i think it can certainly expand the mind and with the click of a button, it’s a book inside a book inside a book inside a book…

Yes its possible, because it’s a ridiculous myth. We all use more than 10% of our brains.

The 10% figure is actually just a myth, see the snopes page on it.
PET and fMRI scans show that we use all of our brains.

Edit: @jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities, you beat me to it!

Well, that wasn’t so bad.

Yes, all of the brain.

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities I don’t. I don’t need to. 4% still makes me the smartest man alive.

Hmm, so science has proven that we use 100% of our brain?

@OutOfTheBlue I agree about the internet thing to an extent. Whatever happened to discovering things on our own…I know, I know, there’s travelling and such but, I mean not alot of people really take the time to appreciate/understand everything or everyone(or just someone) around them these days. I try to do that a couple of times everyday…it’s refreshing.

We use every surface of our brain(therefor 100% of it) but, we do not use it at maximum capacity. There are things we don’t know or don’t understand yet and probably never will.

@OutOfTheBlue The whole brain, but not all of it at the same time. Different parts, different tasks. But they learn new things all the time. It wasn’t long ago the learned that the brain regenerates.

@mclaugh I totally agree, i am finding myself doing it more so now that i am getting a bit older, when i was young it was “rush rush, ding ding,” never really took the time to notice the simple things!

I think if someone used 100% of their brain power their heads would explode.

It’s not about what percentage of our brain we use. Try and focus 100% of your brain on doing something. You can’t, because the brain is specialized, different parts provide different functions. We all use all of the parts of our brain, but not to do one thing, we use all the parts of our brain do many different things.

Hmm, i have some reading to do :)

That idea has been proven to be a misconception.

@OutOfTheBlue I think it’s a good question, and I am glad you posted it. By asking it, you brought a lingering myth out in the open. There are many of those, and by discussing them we can dust them out, and other people believing it to be true can learn something.

My mother taught me this 10 % myth when I was small as well as the one that you shouldn’t go swimming in half and hour after eating, otherwise you could cramp and drown. We all believe things that are not entirely correct.

Indeed, but i believe i remember being taught this in school?

@OutOfTheBlue New research can always disprove things we used to think was true. Or sometimes things just change. Is Pluto still a planet because that’s what you learned in school?

Where is Nikipedia when we need her?

@drdoombot I agree 100% Does anyone know the average of what percent of our brain we use at any given time?

@tinyfaery I GAed your first answer, because I knew where you were going with it. =)

Yay. I was hoping someone would.

Guilty. And that’s a lot ‘cause I got a giant brain.

Maybe I’m in the less than 10% user base but how is 100% configured and understood in the first place in order to come up with 10% and then state the average person uses about 10%. Bunk I say!

From an evolutionary perspective, humans are more intelligent than other animals because of the size of our brains. How would a bigger brain make us more intelligent if we didn’t use that extra gray matter?

Also, the evolutionary model shows that species keep traits that are useful and shed traits that aren’t. How would it help us to have all this extra brain mass that isn’t used?

@drdoombot I think it has more to do with the convolutions in the surface of the brain, rahter than size alone. Sheep have a pretty decent brain size to body ratio, and look how unintelligent they are. =)

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sorry.

We use 100% of our brain. The 10% figure is a complete myth. It has absolutely no factual basis whatsoever.

Regards,
Your friendly neighborhood neuroscientist

@nikipedia Is that some kind of Caesarian code or what?

i think acid makes you use at least 10.5%, maybe 11%, that shit is craaazy

Truth is the brain was shaped by natural selection, just as every other part of us was. Therefore it is highly unlikely that we use only 1/10 of our brain. Funny how myths and urban legends tend to be so accepted as fact.

I quote:

“There is no scientific evidence to suggest that we use only 10% of our brains. In other words, the statement, ‘We use only 10% of our brains’ is false; it’s a myth. We use all of our brain. Let’s look at the possible origins of this myth and the evidence that we use all of our brain. Where Did the 10% Myth Begin?”

Have a look here:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html

@mclaugh I really like what you said about’ ’‘My theory is that they tap into a part of their brains that normal people cannot use, or don’t want to use. ’’ I was speaking about this today!
Also, you’re definitely right when you said: ’‘I believe that the 10% we do use right now will keep shrinking if we keep using technology the way we do ’’ people need to start using their heads more whether its to memorize a phone number or count numbers. Technology makes it too easy!