Do geniuses...?

Question

I'm curious, do geniuses use more than 10% of their brains? Do they use a higher percentage of their brains than average people? If so, how much? If you could post a link, that'll be great. Thank you.

Answer 1

When you understand a little about how the brain works, you realize that this concept isn't very meaningful. It is a massively parallel processor. Each neuron fires based on the state of its own inputs, with a quiet recovery period after each firing. It is largely independent of whatever is happening in the rest of the brain. If the speaker addresses 1000 students in an auditorium and asks John Smith to stand, who responds? Is it the 3 who stand? No, it's also the 994 who conclude that their name is not John Smith. Only the 3 who are asleep do not respond.

The IQ number is sometimes considered a comparison to your mental age with your physical age. So it is recognized that your mental capacity does change with age. But it is generally considered that your IQ doesn't change over time. Testing generally supports this. So it's really a measure of your mental capacity compared to the population as a whole.

I have somewhat of a contrary view. It is well established that your ability to perform various mental tasks improves with use and practice. Since these skills are both what intellectual activity uses, and IQ tests measure, regular mental exercise of various kinds should improve both mental capacity and IQ test scores. The converse, also well established, is "Use it or lose it."

More to the point of your question, I believe strongly that most people don't make anywhere near the best use they can of the mental capacity they have, whatever that is. It's the most wasteful of all laziness. Man leads the animal kingdom in intelligence. It's the human capacity that's of the most value to benefit society and to benefit our own personal condition. More so the uniquely human capacity to know God, but that's a whole other subject.

Genetics fully determines your God-given, structural mental equipment. Disease, injury, drugs, and poor diet can damage it. Training and practice determine how well your body can use that equipment. Education provides much of the training and practice, as well as the raw material (knowledge) for that mind to draw on. Habits of hard work, paying attention, creativity, and good decisions help build wisdom using that knowledge.

We are learning a lot more now about epigenetics, which changes the expression of an individual's (unchanging) genetics. Even that is hereditary, and can affect several succeeding generations. This may be the primary mechanism by which learning and practice affect the intelligence of an individual and their descendents.

IQ measures the capability of that fundamental equipment and compares it to statistical norms, scaled by age. It assumes the taker has taken good enough care of that mind for it to be operating at its design capacity. It does that rather well.

Answer 2

Geniuses use ALL of their brains.... and so does everyone else. It's a myth that we only use 10% of our brains. We use all of it, though not necessarily all at the same time. It would make absolutely no sense for humans to evolve such large brains if we could get by with only 10% of it.

Answer 3

i hate this myth too. we use ALL of our brains. now, regarding "geniuses," they just happen to "use" their brains more effectively than others.