Only Using 10% of Our Brains?
All those commercials for ScarJo's latest film, Lucy, got me thinking – what would really happen if we could utilize all our brain power? And is it really as limited right now as we're frequently led to believe?
Lucy's leading premise is that she is able to unlock all her brain's potential after being mysteriously injected with a secret chemical. This allows her super-human abilities and the capacity to transform herself and escape some pretty unsavoury situations.
I can still hear Morgan Freeman's voice murmuring something about how such a huge chunk of our brain is left unused…
But is it really?
Although popular culture has reinforced the idea that we still have so much brain power just wasted, science tells us otherwise. The Skeptical Inquirer points out that brain imaging scans have shown that basically every part of our brain is active – sometimes in smaller ways, but active nonetheless. This can also explain why brain trauma, no matter how minor, can have monumental effects on everything from motor ability to memory.
There are some interesting books that consider all the ways in which our amazing brains work: how our personalities are formed, how we learn, and how we make sense of the world around us.
And – as if there were any doubt – reading is definitely a way to improve your brain power! Psychology Today explains how reading fiction in particular can boost brain connectivity and function. So, happy reading!
One thought on “Only Using 10% of Our Brains?”
I no longer feel guilty about indulging in chick-lit!