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Did We only Use 10% of our Brain?
"Understanding the Brain", The Birth of a Learning Science, 2007, page 113
Did We only Use 10% of our Brain?
It is often said that humans only use 10% (sometimes 20%) of their brain. Where did this myth come from? Some say it came from Einstein, who responded once during an interview that he only used 10% of his brain. Early research on the brain may have supported this myth.
In the 1930s, Karl Lashley explored the brain using electric shocks. As many areas of the brain did not react to these shocks, Lashley concluded that these areas had no function. This is how the term “silent cortex” came into circulation. This theory is now judged to be incorrect. Dubious interpretations of the brain’s functioning have also fuelled this myth.
Today, thanks to imaging techniques, the brain can be precisely described in functional areas. Each sense corresponds to one or several primary functional areas: a primary visual area, which receives information perceived by the eye; a primary auditory area, which receives information perceived by the ear, etc.
Several regions are linked to the production and comprehension of language. They are sometimes described separately by physiologists, and the public which remembers these partial descriptions may gain the impression that the brain functions area by area. This would be consistent with the image that, at any one moment, only a small region of the brain is active but this is not what occurs.
In the 1930s, Karl Lashley explored the brain using electric shocks. As many areas of the brain did not react to these shocks, Lashley concluded that these areas had no function. This is how the term “silent cortex” came into circulation. This theory is now judged to be incorrect. Dubious interpretations of the brain’s functioning have also fuelled this myth.
Today, thanks to imaging techniques, the brain can be precisely described in functional areas. Each sense corresponds to one or several primary functional areas: a primary visual area, which receives information perceived by the eye; a primary auditory area, which receives information perceived by the ear, etc.
Several regions are linked to the production and comprehension of language. They are sometimes described separately by physiologists, and the public which remembers these partial descriptions may gain the impression that the brain functions area by area. This would be consistent with the image that, at any one moment, only a small region of the brain is active but this is not what occurs.
"Understanding the Brain", The Birth of a Learning Science, 2007, page 113
