Do people only use 10% of their brain capacity?

Answer

Hi Michael,

It is absolutely not true that we only use 10% of our brains. This has long been believed by many people, but scientists are sure that it is not correct.

Every area in our brain has a function. We need some parts of the brain to read a book, others to be able to cycle, etc. Each task activates a network of areas that belong together. For example, while reading a book, an area in the back of the brain recognizes that you see words, an area in the front tells you what the word sounds like, and another part of the brain in the middle helps to make sense of the word. You need brain cells in a different place to cycle.

Brain areas are therefore never all used at the same time. We couldn’t handle that. Too many brain cells sending out a signal at the same time is actually what happens in an epileptic seizure. But we can’t do much with too few active brain cells. Moreover, it would not be smart to drag 90% of our brain with us if we do nothing with it. Then evolution would have ensured that our heads were much smaller. Only useful cells under your skull!