The Popular Brain Myth Scientists Want You To Stop Believing

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You have heard it before: "You only use 10% of your brain." To set the record straight, this is absolutely false, but you are not alone if you have believed it. As recently as 2013, nearly two-thirds of adults in the United States believed this to be true. According to a 2018 survey, only 42% of educators were able to identify this myth as false. It has remained a remarkably pervasive fable and has been misattributed to many different renowned scientists.

In fact, every part of your brain is very important and serves a specialized purpose. Moreover, these areas act together simultaneously, not restricted to one segment at a time. Fortunately, the advent of technologies like functional magnetic resonance imaging have allowed us to visualize ongoing activity in the living brain. These data demonstrate that no area of your brain is entirely inactive, even while you are sleeping. Your brain is so high-functioning that nearly 20% of all energy in your body is dedicated towards it. Although some individuals have survived after severe brain tissue loss, this is due to the incredible plasticity of the brain.

While such a simple myth might appear harmless, it indicates widespread misinformation surrounding neuroscience. In this technologically savvy era, as information, true or not, is so readily available, it is important for us to ensure that we maintain a firm grasp on the facts of science. Therefore, we must begin to understand the truth behind this common fiction and correct falsely held notions.

Although this has been a longstanding belief, its origins remain somewhat dubious. It seems to have gained traction in the 20th century, and a name that comes up frequently in the investigation of this myth's inception is William James. An influential psychologist and philosopher, James wrote on many topics, including theories on the active use of energy in the body. In 1907, he published a book on the topic which stated that we are only using a fraction of our mental resources. It appears this statement on focused energy was misinterpreted as an indictment of limited anatomical function.

Perhaps the greatest proliferation of this belief occurred due to the publishing of a wildly popular book that was widely circulated upon its release and continues to be read to this day. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie originally contained a foreword by Lowell Thomas, a renowned radio host and explorer, that included the statement, "Professor William James of Harvard used to say that the average man develops only ten percent of his latent mental ability." Initially released in 1936, within the first three weeks 70,000 copies had been sold. Today, that amount has reached over 30 million.

In the 2014 film "Lucy," Scarlett Johansson plays a character who has garnered the ability to use the entirety of her brain. This leads her to develop super-human abilities including telekinesis, X-ray vision, and time travel. While this is an unabashedly fictional film, the appeal of this plot device is not unique. Many other movies employ the mythical premise of the greater-than-10% brain, but this is not restricted solely to entertainment.

Perhaps it is no surprise that this myth was bolstered by its inclusion in a self-help book. The idea of vast, untapped human potential is certainly appealing. Although no such record exists, some have mistakenly suggested that Albert Einstein attributed his intelligence to an ability to utilize more than 10% of his brain. These ideas lend themselves to the belief that we could be Nobel-worthy scientists ourselves, if only we knew the proper neuro-hacking techniques.

Of course, self-optimization is a consistently trendy topic. Maybe the endurance of this brain myth has something to do with the sheer allure of so much latent potential, just waiting to be accessed. However, this romanticization of the impossible neglects the fascinating reality of how impressive the brain truly is. The pieces of the nervous system work together so remarkably, and the fact that the brain can engage in so many varied functions at once serves as a reminder that it is already functioning at an incredibly high capacity.