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.
So put that baby to rest - my job here is done. Again.
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That 10% thing is an example of how people misunderstand and misuse statistics, and how repetition builds "truth". What started it all was when a researcher noted that we only understand about 10% of what the brain does. ( I'd give you his name, but only about 10% of my memory seems to work.) Anyhow, that got turned into "we only use 10%" instead of "we still have work to do to understand the other 90%". I'm willing to bet there is still more we don't understand than we do understand.
ReplyDeleteAnother is that you only have so many brain cells and they don't regenerate. Not true either.
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