Unlocking your true potential

[Mocha Chief]

Science has proven that the average human only uses about 10-20% of their brain. Now think, that's at most 1/5 of our brain, and look at everything we have been able to create. Can you imagine the potential we could ultimately have if we were able to unlock the rest our brain? Think of everything we could accomplish then! Every time I begin to think about this I always get mind blown. If only we knew what was holding us back from unlocking the rest of our brain. What does everyone think of this and what do you think is holding us back? Personally I think it's the ability to process a memory and exactly how fat you can do it. For instance, I'm very good at math. I am able to see the numbers in my head and I can see the connections they make with the problem I'm looking at. The reason I'm able to do this is because I've seen so many problems I have been able to remember patterns and remember what happens by looking at a problem and making the connections with older problems I have seen. (I hope that makes sense, I really am horrible at explainging stuff like this)

[The Magic Pudding]

Science has proven that the average human only uses about 10-20% of their brain.

Hollywood, not science I think.

[Asmodean]

Hollywood, yes.

That said, tweaking your brain will not "unlock your true potential" - it will at best add an aftermarket turbo to your engine, thus pushing it over its "natural" limits

[Stevil]

It is hard to believe, because based on evolution, we wouldn't have such a large brain if we didn't use it.
Either it has parts that were used historically than have now become redundant, or we do actually use it but scientists just haven't yet worked out what we use it for.

Disclaimer: I am no evolution expert so obviously am just speculating here.

[Ali]

Science has proven that the average human only uses about 10-20% of their brain.

Hollywood, not science I think.

Yeah.  I actually don't know where we get this idea that we only use 10-20% of the brain.  I actually had to memorize all of the parts of the brain for an anatomy class, and trust me, they are all used/useful.  Maybe it comes from the idea that babies are born with a lot more synapses than they need, and there is a pruning as the child gets older?  But the pruning is a useful thing too - it "clears the path" for the synapses that are actually being used.  And if that's what people are referring to, it's too late for any of us here on the board.  Our synapses have been pruned.   

[Twentythree]

Science has proven that the average human only uses about 10-20% of their brain.

You are perpetuating and urban legend.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=people-only-use-10-percent-of-brain

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-we-really-use-only-10

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html

http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percent.asp

http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/ten-percent-of-brain.htm

[Mocha Chief]

Ahhh ok... Now I feel stupid :/ lol

[Asmodean]

Ahhh ok... Now I feel stupid :/ lol

Worry not! There is still the wonderful realm of cybernetics. 

[Davin]

Ahhh ok... Now I feel stupid :/ lol

Being wrong about something doesn't mean that you're stupid, though being wrong and not fixing it is a bad sign.

[Ali]

Ahhh ok... Now I feel stupid :/ lol

Being wrong about something doesn't mean that you're stupid, though being wrong and not fixing it is a bad sign.

This is true.  I'm wrong all of the time. 

[Tank]

Ahhh ok... Now I feel stupid :/ lol

Not at all. If you don't find out something new everyday, you're dead 

[The Magic Pudding]

It's a bit, just a bit like this:

In genetics, noncoding DNA describes components of an organism's DNA sequences that do not encode for protein sequences. In many eukaryotes, a large percentage of an organism's total genome size is noncoding DNA, although the amount of noncoding DNA, and the proportion of coding versus noncoding DNA varies greatly between species.

Much of this DNA has no known biological function and is sometimes referred to as "junk DNA". However, many types of noncoding DNA sequences do have known biological functions, including the transcriptional and translational regulation of protein-coding sequences. Other noncoding sequences have likely, but as-yet undetermined, functions (this is inferred from high levels of homology and conservation seen in sequences that do not encode proteins but, nonetheless, appear to be under heavy selective pressure). While this indicates that noncoding DNA should not be indiscriminately referred to as junk DNA, the lack of sequence conservation in a majority of noncoding DNA with no known function indicates that much of it may indeed be without function.

I remember an I Love Lucy episode where she rips a whole lot of wires out of a car (a Jag?) because she can see no reason for them.  That is a very old memory and I have no idea why it stuck around, but there is a principle attached to it.  I Love Lucy provided a formative experience for me, worrying isn't it.

[Wessik]

I'd like an extra hand, and a fourth leg. Cybernetics indeed!