Ten percent myth

{{pseudosciencenav}}
{{cquote|It's not true that humans only use ten percent of our brains. No study has ever shown or even claimed that. It's just something people say for no reason.|||Adam Conover<ref>[https://youtu.be/oA-fc3D09ZY 13 Things You Think Are True, But Aren't]</ref>}}
The '''ten percent myth''', probably the most common piece of neuro-mythology, is the [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] idea that humans only use ten percent of their [[brain]]s (the number may be given as eleven, twelve, or thereabouts, but ten is most common).<ref>Grospietsch, F., & Mayer, J. (2019). Pre‑service science teachers’ neuroscience literacy: Neuromyths and a professional understanding of learning and memory. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13, Article 20. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00020</ref><ref>OECD (2002), Understanding the Brain: Towards a New Learning Science, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264174986-en.</ref> This claim is easily refuted by modern [[neuroscience]]; as brain-imaging techniques such as [[MRI|fMRI]], {{wpl|Positron emission tomography|PET}} scans and {{wpl|electroencephalography}} (among others) show that nearly all regions of the brain have identifiable functions and are active at different times depending on the task. Damage to almost any area of the brain can result in some loss of function, which is why doctors never say, "It's okay, he was shot in the part of the brain that no one uses!"<ref>Raichle, M. E., MacLeod, A. M., Snyder, A. Z., Powers, W. J., Gusnard, D. A., & Shulman, G. L. (2001). A default mode of brain function. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 98(2), 676–682. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.98.2.676</ref><ref>Gusnard, D., Raichle, M. Searching for a baseline: Functional imaging and the resting human brain. Nat Rev Neurosci 2, 685–694 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35094500</ref><ref>Kolb, B., & Whishaw, I. Q. (2015). Fundamentals of human neuropsychology (7th ed.). Worth Publishers. See Chapters 13–17 and 25–27 for discussion of functional consequences of brain damage {{isbn|9781319154042}}</ref> It is also contradicted by basic evolutionary logic; the brain requires a tremendous amount of energy and resources, and it would not be advantageous for evolution to maintain a large, metabolically expensive organ if most of it were useless.<ref>Navarrete, A., van Schaik, C. & Isler, K. Energetics and the evolution of human brain size. Nature 480, 91–93 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10629</ref><ref>Laughlin, S., de Ruyter van Steveninck, R. & Anderson, J. The metabolic cost of neural information. Nat Neurosci 1, 36–41 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/236</ref>

The idea has been mis-attributed to various scientific figures, but most commonly William James and [[Albert Einstein]]. Some believe that the myth was a misreading of this line by James:
{{cquote|We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources.}}
The ten percent myth is the basis for a good amount of [[woo]]. It often turns up in [[New Age]] tracts, especially those related to the [[Human Potential Movement]]. It's used to justify the existence of some "hidden" or "secret" powers of the brain that can be "unlocked," such as super-intelligence (or for them, even an average [[IQ]]), [[telepathy]], [[telekinesis]], [[psychic]] powers, etc. This suggests that New Age advocates may use only ten percent of their brains.

'''Note:''' It has been disputed in the past whether humans use their entire brain ''power,'' by the analogy that if you have a car that can drive at a maximum of 100 mph, and you drive at 10 mph, you are still using the entire engine, but not at its full power. This is definitely a valid point about the brains of [[creationists]] and such (as their brains are as ''powerful'' as everyone else's), but it is not known whether a rational person is operating their brain at its maximum possible power.

==Pop-culture in which this claim appears==
{{expand section}}
* The idea was a prominent theme in the film {{wpl|Lucy (2014 film)|''Lucy'' (2014),}} which is painful to watch for anyone with a background in science. 
* {{wpl|The Dark Fields}} and its {{wpl|Limitless (film)|2011 film adaptation Limitless.}}
* {{wpl|Fist of the North Star}} - one of the most famous manga/anime series, this notorious [[Machismo|80s ultra-violent]] [[martial arts]] series featuring a martial art called ''Hokuto Shinken'', which allows its masters (like protagonist Kenshiro) to "unlock 90% of the human brain" to achieve superhuman abilities. The series uses this concept to explain the extreme strength, agility and supernatural pressure-point manipulation (thats used to make people's heads explode) possessed by its characters.
* [[The Matrix]] 
* 2004-2007 TV show {{wpl|The 4400}}

==External links==
*[http://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_ten-percent_myth/ The Ten Percent Myth], [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]]
*[http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=people-only-use-10-percent-of-brain Do People Only Use 10 Percent of Their Brains?], ''[[Scientific American]]''
*[http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percent.asp The Ten-Percent Myth], [[Snopes]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Science woo]]
[[Category:Woo]]
[[Category:New Age]]

Categories: Pseudoscience, Psychology, Science woo, Woo, New Age