Why Do So Many People Believe The Myth That We Only Use 10% of Our Brains??

Question

Because I talk to people, plus they talked about it no the radio this morning and said that many people believe it.

Answer 1

Umm, hello? Have you read some of the questions on here? Most of these people can't possibly be using more than 10%.

Answer 2

There's probably a lot of lazy people out there that only use 10% of their brains... So maybe it's true. ;p

If you can't bother with the other 90% effort of verifying if this myth is true or false, then yeah you only used 10% of your brain to answer this question.

Personally I really don't really care enough to research this claim (or whether aliens can use 100% or if the other 90% kicks in when stranded on a deserted island), so I'm just using 10% myself while my other 90% is passively trying to figure out the meaning of life and what I'm going to cook for dinner tonight.

Answer 3

It isn't a myth dude. It's fact.
There are scientific instruments that measure electrical activity in the brain and also show graphically which parts are activated at any given time. There are some parts that no matter what the person is doing, thinking, saying, etc., they are never active.

Sorry to say, that's what separates us from the big headed aliens. They have to have a head that big to hold their extra large brains that they use 100% of capacity. That's why they are so much more advanced than we are.
The whole human race are underachievers!

Answer 4

Maybe they just feel more secure knowing they arent the only ones not using their heads? lol.. People also believed that different areas of the tongue were receptive to different tastes. A human uses their entire brain obviously. Perhaps it was just an excuse to lobotomize masses of psychiatric paitents to reintergrate them back into society. lol.. I am sure we could theorize and ponder on this subject for many years and simply come up with more confusion. Maybe its an average and dumb people keep setting the mark..

Answer 5

Those people who believe we only use 10% of our brains probably only use 7% of THIER brains. That extra 3% looks like a real advantage, something worth striving for.

Answer 6

How do you know it is only a myth? It might be pure fact. I think that if you were to use all of are brains, we would either get a major headache or...you would be a genuis. I heard that genuises, for example: Albert Einstein, use about 20% of their brain and are able to absorb more stuff. Also, ever heard of those occations were people are like stranded or are about to die, and they suddenly know what they have to do and how to do it? I think that human's do use all or most of thier brain when they need to, but when they don't...they don't.

Sorry if none of this makes sence...just my opinion

Answer 7

When that question comes up in the social science section, you have a large proportion of the people thinking this is so. It is not that way in the science section; the exact opposite, in fact. Did you know that the mean IQ difference between social scientists and scientists is about one standard deviation? In the scientist favor, of course.

PS We use all of our brain.

Answer 8

the only time i've heard of this is when people are referring to the freudian idea that 10% of our brain is conscious, while the other 90% is the unconscious mind

(which has not been verified)

Answer 9

Because if we used more, There would be No Wars, No Religion, and alot more advancements than we now have... Using 10 % is giving humans a lot of credit... I have yet to see any more than 10% usage so far... Jesus used 20% and look what he accomplished... we can do better...

Answer 10

It's just one of those urban myths that got a lot circulation...I wonder how it even got started. How did it get started, anyway?