Recently, I saw the movie Lucy starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. If you’re planning on watching it and don’t want me to spoil it for you, then skip the next paragraph. (In my opinion, you can find plenty of better ways to spend 89 minutes.)
The general story is that a college student studying abroad (Johansson) gets abducted by a gang in Taipei and is forced to carry a bag of drugs that they implant in her abdomen. When the bag starts leaking its contents, CPH4 (based on a real molecule that pregnant woman produce which the movie likens to an “atomic bomb for a fetus”), the drug triggers rampant production of new connections between neurons giving Lucy access to the 90 percent of her brain that supposedly most of us never use.
The explosive brain growth makes her superhuman, and levitation, time travel, mind reading, learning Chinese in an instant, mentally controlling electronics, altering and generating new body parts, as well as high-speed car chases, and fight-to-the-death scenes follow.
Lucy is based on a lie
The director, Luc Besson, knew the idea that we only use 10% of our brainpower was wrong but went with it anyway. Hey, it IS science fiction. I get it, but the problem is that too many people accept this brain myth as a fact. According to a TED-Ed Animation, two-thirds of the public and nearly half of all science teachers still mistakenly believe this nonsense.
The Battle In Your Brain
Itās true that increased connectivity between neurons is associated with greater ability. Studies have shown that musicians, who play stringed instruments, have larger areas of their brains dedicated to their active hands. Brain scans of London taxi drivers have revealed that the more years a driver has on the job correlates to a larger portion of their brain being recruited to store spatial information.
These findings demonstrate Hebb’s law: neurons that fire together wire together and neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to change its physical structure and function based on repeated experience, behavior, and thoughts.Ā In the blog, The Battle In Your Brain, I write:
Every minute of every day thereās a battle going on in your brain ā a battle for cortical real estate. Ā Your experiences, behaviours, emotions, and even your thoughts are constantly, literally changing and shaping your brain.”
You have a use or lose it brain. Any unused connections go dormant to free up resources needed to strengthen those connections that are most often used. Neuroplasticity is competitive, and functioning areas of the brain not receiving any stimuli will be quickly taken over. In experiments where participants were blindfolded, their visual cortices started reorganizing themselves to process sound in just two days!
You Already Use 100% Of Your Brain
Brain scans show activity coursing through your entire brain all the time, even at rest and during sleep. Not all 86 billion neurons are firing at once, of course, but they do exist in a constant state of resting potential, electrically charged, ready to act when needed.Ā
An article in Scientific American, “Do People Only Use 10% Of Their Brains,” explains:
‘Evidence would show over a day you use 100 percent of the brain,’ says John Henley, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Even in sleep, areas such as the frontal cortex, which controls things like higher level thinking and self-awareness, or the somatosensory areas, which help people sense their surroundings, are active, Henley explains. ….'[I]t turns out though, that we use virtually every part of the brain, and that [most of] the brain is active almost all the time.'”
Your Brain Is An Energy Hog
Your brain is incredibly hungry and requires a huge amount of energy just to keep running. The human adult brain makes up about only 2% of the bodyās mass yet uses 20% of energy intake. In children, the brain eats up 50% of daily glucose intake, and infantsā brains take a whopping 60%.
Brain sizes scale in proportion to body size with larger animals having larger brains, but on a per weight basis, humans pack in more neurons than any other species. This density is what makes us so smart. It takes an awful lot of fuel to power that complex brain, and there’s a trade-off between body size and a sustainable number of neurons. According to the Ted-Ed Animation, “A 25-kilogram ape has to eat 8 hours a day to uphold a brain with 53 billion neurons.”
The invention of cooking food gave humans the means to power their growing brains because our guts could more easily absorb energy from cooked food.
Our brains also adapted by learning to become incredibly energy efficient. At any one time, only a small proportion of brain cells are signaling, a process known as “sparse coding”, allowing the brain to use the least amount of energy while transferring the most information. The need to conserve energy resources is the reason that most brain processes happen below conscious awareness and that multitasking just doesn’t work. There’s not enough energy available to the brain to focus on more than one thing at a time.
The energy burden of maintaining an activation spike over the entire brain at once would be unsustainable. So, using the brain at full capacity all the time, as depicted at the end of the movie, would be impossible. A person simply could not supply the necessary fuel.
Smart Drugs
Another movie, Limitless, portrayed a disheveled writer who cleaned up his life and at the bank when he discovered and became addicted to a cognitive enhancing “smart drug.” Ā While some neuroenhancers or nootropics do actually exist today, a wonder drug as portrayed in both movies has yet to be discovered.Ā
In aĀ BBC News article, Professor John Harris, director of the Institute for Science, Ethics, and Innovation at The University of Manchester, says smart drugs can give people an edge, but:
They have a similar effect to hard work and coffee. Physical exercise also has the same effect.Ā They are all, to an extent, cognitive enhancers. If youāre not a genius before, you wonāt be afterward.”
The Scientific America articleĀ concludes by saying,
Share this article!Ultimately, it’s not that we use 10 percent of our brains, merely that we only understand about 10 percent of how it functions.”
73 Comments
What a great article Debbie, I love this stuff. Thanks so much!
Thank you for your encouraging words, Johnathan. I find it fascinating too! (I’m such a geek!)
Great… It’s looks you watch movies alote spend some time in real life Akki… lol
Yes! š
the brain is a miracle
Ultimately, itās not that we use 10 percent of our brains, merely that we only understand about 10 percent of how it functions.
This summary says it all for the defense of the opposition to your point. The defense rests with this closing !!
Precisely, Rajesh! š
Sorry, I don’t understand.
i’m have experience using Smark Drink in high amount for important testing , my brain go faster write faster and thinking alot faster but after finish the test my body feel reall exhausted than normal state . (warning note : don’t just relies on smart drink if your not prepare before do thing you need do it’s just helping.)
Good advice from experience, Chouwakun. Thanks for sharing!
Such a wonderful article about brain use.
Thank you, Santosh!
After my fingers healed from breaking them, I asked the doctor: “tell me, can I play the piano now?” To which he replied: “yes”.
I was very happy because I was never able to play the piano before!
I like the thought that we can do so much more than ever before when our brain is put to better use. And I also believe that we have a brain that learns in patterns and repetitive actions, so no movie The Matrix where we can upload a skill.
And yes, ‘when people spend as much time working on their dreams as they are watching tv, most people would live their dream life’ ~TV~
Our brain is asleep most of the time and I would like to see that the world wakes up to discover that we use our brain to chase after the wrong things in life.
Thanks for your insights on this blog and your other blogs…
Tony Verheij
Tony, thanks for your somewhat random comments! š I totally agree and love ‘when people spend as much time working on their dreams as they are watching tv, most people would live their dream life.’ Our power to create the life we want is in our brain – not quite like The Matrix, but still there.
Pingback: The Heaven and Hell Inside Your Head - The best brain possible
Pingback: The Top Brain Posts Of 2015 - The best brain possible
Activating 100 billions neurons altogether, which means 1000 trillion connections/ sec will make human brain like an organic star. A normal humans consciousness is outdated and low grade which can only manage to keep all the atoms and molecule in our body together for roughly 80 years of a lifetime. To sustain 1000 trillion connections/ sec we need extraordinary supply of energy, 2000 calories a day is like chunk change and cant do shit. At such stage our body will transcend from closed energy system to open energy system, like a dying star approaching last stages of supernova. Movie showed that process gradually. Lucys mental gravity was increasing so much that she started manipulating atoms around her like a high gravity star does in space and attracts other small gravity objects. Transcending to the 100% capacity our consciousness realises it does needs this body anymore because its outdated and cannot sustain such gravity, it needs more. Finally at 100% brain achieves supernova and achieves singularity, we truly becomes timeless and energy less and becomes part of the “supreme”.
Pardeep,
Thank you for your interpretation of the movie. The point is is that the movie perpetuates an erroneous myth that we only use a small percentage of our brains. Who knows what’s possible? š
a simple question for u when u do an activity do u use all the different parts of your brain to solve the problem. the answer is no you dont you dont take over control of the part of the brain that controls eye movement or arm hand leg movement to solve the issue you use parts of the brain that let you use them to solve the problem so baicaly you are not using 100% of your brain. also like i said earlier you brain cotrols sections of your whole body so you dont have control over them. this is the main premise of the 10% myth. the fact is you cant use 100% of your brain to do 1 specific task. if you did you would die/start to degrade as u would stop breathing blood flow round your body would slow and stop you would go blind and be unable to move as all your brain is using all the energy like pradeep was explaining about the film to complete the task you asked of it. simple way to show this is if u imagine that air/oxygen is the energy like he was saying and you told your brain to use all that energy(air) to make your legs work you wouldnt have the air in your lungs to breath or the air to make your heart beat
I see your points. Thank you for your thoughts.
As stated in a previous comment. we do not activly control 100 percent of our psyche at all times. 90 percent is on auto pilot, the other 10 is used for motor and thought. the ability to conciously control the other 90 is where most people talk about only using 10. I would love to take on a test to unlock every bit of concious mental capacity as i could. i agree. it would be like a star using up extreme amounts of energy. but whos to say it will never happen that we find a way to supply and sustain.
It would be mind-blowing. (pun intended) š
super interesting esspically the ted video and genreally all this topic!
Thank you much! š
What a great article Debbie.
Thanks!
What a great article Debbie.
I love this article. One thing makes me made. It is not about the percentage of the brain that we use but the percentage that we control. We use 100 percent but how much of that can we control because that is what matter. We can count the stars in the sky but can’t control how many there are. Same goes with our brain, we can say the percentage we use but can’t control how much we are in control of. Because in theory we could speed the process of healing and “trick” ourselves into creating the chemicals our body needs but we still have yet to find a way to control all of our brain. So instead of the word “use” instead switch it to “control”, because that is the real question.
Good points, Camron. With most of our lives guided by our unconscious brains, we could certainly benefit by becoming more aware and in control. However, this article is addressing the myth that we only use 10% of our brains. Your topic is addressed in another article. š
https://thebestbrainpossible.com/making-friends-with-the-zombies/
It really was a great article though. I’m only 17 so I find stuff like this insanely intriguing and it makes me think more than ever. Something that I love to do. Thank you very much for the article!!
Camron,
You are doing great to be interested in and know this kind of stuff at 17. Wish I had. I think your generation (including my sons) is much more awake and aware than we were!
Hey I’m 17 to!
its not the fact that u dont use 100% of ure brain its the fact that u cant openly use the 100% to say complete a mathmatical problem u cant access the other parts of your brain to use that matter to complete a task u use parts of the brain to complete differnt tasks. can u take control of your subconscious no bcause u cont control that part of your brain it does it freely with out you telling it to do what it does. so if i asked what 1+1= u brain would use the parts that deal with this reasoning and u get your answer in say 10 seconds for eg. but if u could use all the matter in your brain to tell all of it to think about the problem you would get to the answer alot faster.
Why would you want to use more of your brain than necessary to do anything? The brain is all about efficiency and will find the path of least effort for accomplishing any task.
let me respond with a simple question why build a super computer to help us study things?? we use it to complete multiple math eqations or other complex theories in the matter of seconds that would take a human years to try and solve if we were ble to activly control all of the brain to do that one task it wouldnt take us years it ould take say weeks instead or less its all theoretical but thats my basic premise of how it would work ad or why.
I think using all your brain to store data will not make you smart. There is a think called logic and that is a different process that your brain do that needs to be discovered.
Good point! Very true.
I had filled up 100% of my brain with data but I do not know how to use it! Ha ha ha!
I guess that’s a good problem to have. š
We all have probably have searched for the secret to a limitless mind. Which probably led us to this article. I have run across certain nootropics that have increased my articulation while on them and they appeared to have given me greater access to my intellectual abilities. Sunifiram and noopept had this effect. . If you would please share your secrets so that those that discover this thread can take a step closer to truly unlocking our minds and achieving our full potential. Only list what you believe truly works. Together we can reach our full potential. This is the only way we will be able to accomplish it. Knowledge is vast and this approach will narrow our scope. We can only achieve this if we work together, compare notes and continue until we find the so called magic pill that will unlock our minds full potential.
Thank you for your comment. The only secret I have is living a brain healthy life which allows and encourages your brain to perform optimally which would include: meditation, mindfulness, exercise, diet, mental stimulation – all the things this website is about.
I think you use to many periods. (:
Hee hee!
It is not my opinion, it’s science.
Yes absolutely I asked a neurosurgeon about cerebral capacity he accepts ur essay.
after going through different material about unlocking brain…i’ve discovered something terrible after my research..i cant say more but my dog which i used for experiment can picture it further…i didn’t believe this…surely unlocking brain is possible and my next step is to humans..by 2019 i’ll give the world what i’ve got.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.This is very helpful for me
Thank you for your comment! š
Thanks it’s a good essay about cerebral capacity
Lovely
yesterday i messaged you
you did not respond me . guide about this thank you
I’m sorry, but I do not even understand what your question is. I offer coaching services if you seek one-on-one detailed advice. https://www.thebestbrainpossible.com/coaching/
If it were possible for someone to use 100% of your brain power at once would you assume that said person would be more intelligent than the average person.
That would be a logical assumption, but there is no data to back it up. š
Debbie you make a lot of claims in this article with virtually no references to back them up. For example: “The invention of cooking food gave humans the means to power their growing brains because our guts could more easily absorb energy from cooked food.” āĀ I’d like to know where you got this idea from because it seems like the kind of thing that is imho certain to be just a theory with no evidence to back it up. I mean if that were true then humans who eat a completely raw diet (yes you do get those, I’m one) should be unable to sustain their brain mass and all be of limited intelligence, which is simply not the case.
Noel,
The information you inquire about is from the linked TED-ED video at around the 2:20 mark. It specifically says “Cooked food gave us a huge advantage….cooked food is rendered soft and pre-digested outside of the body…our gut more easily absorbs the energy. Cooking frees up time and provides more energy than if we ate foodstuff raw.”
Excellent article.
Many thanks! š
I find this article very intriguing, I very well do believe that it is possible to use 100% of our brain. Not in the way as where we can use 100% of our brain to solve a mathematical problem, we use certain parts of our brains to do certain things. Using specific arts of our brain daily is keeping them active, which is stopping them from becoming dormant and unable to access easily if we need to use them one day.
I have read about how using more than 10% of your brain would cause you to have a seizure, because of the neurons firing all at once. Not so sure about that article though!
I’m probably completely wrong about this as I am still very young. š
Alana,
As the article explains, you already do use 100% of your brain. The 10% idea is a myth. Take care of it! š
Interesting article, it makes more sense that we use our whole brain, compared to the idea that we use only a small portion of one of our bodies most vital organs . Also very encouraging life story that i may have read at the right time in my life.. thank you debbie š
Thanks! I’m glad you found the information helpful and inspirational.
Great articlešš…….But how can someone control 100percent of their brain?? Is that possibleš¤š¤
You can’t, Kamal. A lot of your brain function is subconscious, which you do not control. Read this: https://www.thebestbrainpossible.com/making-friends-with-the-zombies/
Great article written by the writer. Thanks for the explanation of this stuff regarding the use of brain .
Glad you found it helpful. š
I believe that while every part of the brain does something, we still could do a lot more. If we truly had access to our full potential, we could do incredible things.
I agree with you. I think it’s more that we need to learn to fully use what we already have access to … than having to figure out how to access more. š
My study about being smarter is that there isn,t actually drugs or anything else to boost the brain some energy drinks helps for a while but you can charge your brain up with small amounts of electro magnetic fields for a short period of times but to much can cause brain cancer or any other related brain disorders
Thanks for the additional information, Johan.
You can learn telekinesis or any other supernatural abilities by practising it every day for 10 mins a day but also a very high dose of meditation because your brain needs to be relaxed and the more you practise the more your brain function generates more electro magnetic fields that is actually firing up your brain but it needs a lot of traing every day it is like riding a bicycle for the first time the more you practise the more you succeed
Is LUCY movie based on a lie?? I am from India!
Let’s say it uses imaginative creativity. It’s not represented as reality. It’s a movie! š
Paul, let’s say it’s imaginative creativity. š Yes, it is not based on truth.