astronomy

Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth

Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth rather than just read about it. In short: The ten-percent-of-the-brain myth states that humans generally use only one-tenth (or some other small fraction) of their brains. It has been misattributed to many famous scientists and historical figures, notably Albert Einstein.

Key takeaways

Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The ten-percent-of-the-brain myth states that humans generally use only one-tenth (or some other small fraction) of their brains. It has been misattributed to many famous scientists and historical figures, notably Albert Einstein. By extrapolation, it is suggested that a person may 'harness' or 'unlock' this unused potential and increase their intelligence. Changes in grey and white matter following new experiences and learning have been shown, but it has not yet been proven what the changes are. The popular notion that large parts of the brain remain unused, and could subsequently be "activated", rests in folklore and not science. Though specific mechanisms regarding brain function remain to be fully described—e.g. memory, consciousness—the physiology of brain mapping suggests that all areas of the brain have a function and that they are used nearly all the time.

Origin A likely origin for the "10% myth" is the reserve energy theories of Harvard psychologists William James and Boris Sidis. In the 1890s, they tested the theory in the accelerated raising of the child prodigy William Sidis. Thereafter, James told lecture audiences that people only meet a fraction of their full mental potential, which is a plausible claim. The concept gained currency by circulating within the self-help movement of the 1920s; for example, the 1929 World Almanac states "There is NO LIMIT to what the human brain can accomplish. Scientists and psychologists tell us we use only about TEN PERCENT of our brain power." This became a particular "pet idea" of science fiction writer and editor John W. Campbell, who wrote in a 1932 short story that "no man in all history ever used even half of the thinking part of his brain". In 1936, American writer and broadcaster Lowell Thomas popularized the idea, in a foreword to Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, by including the falsely precise percentage: "Professor William James of Harvard used to say that the average man develops only ten percent of his latent mental ability". In the 1970s, the Bulgarian-born psychologist and educator Georgi Lozanov proposed the teaching method of suggestopedia, believing "that we might be using only five to ten percent of our mental capacity". The origin of the myth has also been attributed to Wilder Penfield, the U.S.-born neurosurgeon who was the first director of Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill University. According to a related origin story, the ten-percent myth most likely arose from a misunderstanding (or misrepresentation) of neurological research in the late 19th century or early 20th century. For example, the functions of many brain regions (especially in the cerebral cortex) are complex enough that the effects of damage are subtle, leading early neurologists to wonder what these regions did. The brain was also discovered to consist mostly of glial cells, which seemed to have very minor functions. James W. Kalat, the author of the textbook Biological Psychology, points out that neuroscientists in the 1930s knew about the large number of "local" neurons in the brain. The misunderstanding of the function of local neurons may have led to the ten-percent myth. The myth might have been propagated simply by a truncation of the idea that some use a small percentage of their brains at any given time. In the same article in Scientific American, John Henley, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, states: "Evidence would show over a day you use 100 percent of the brain". Although several parts of the brain have broadly understood functions, the manner in which brain cells (i.e. neurons and glia) produce certain particular behaviours and disorders remains unclear. Perhaps the broadest, most mysterious question is how diverse regions of the brain collaborate to form conscious experiences. So far, there is no evidence that there is one site responsible for consciousness, which leads experts to believe that it stems from multiple areas of the brain. Therefore, as with Kalat's idea that humans have untapped cognitive potential, it may be that a large number of questions about the brain have not been fully answered.

Analysis Neurologist Barry Gordon refuted the theory, stating: "We use virtually every part of the brain, and [...] (most of) the brain is active almost all the time." Neuroscientist Barry Beyerstein sets out six kinds of evidence disproving the ten-percent myth:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth

In research: Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American urban legends, Brain, History of Harvard University, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth in simple terms?

Why does Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth.