How to Use More than 10 Percent of Your Brain

Every now and then I happen to catch some regular good 'ol fashion TV. Such events are not as common now as I typically stream content from the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime if I'm going to sit myself down to be entertained.

Anyway, I happened to catch a commercial for an upcoming movie called Lucy. Here's the trailer:




In the trailer Morgan Freeman (or his character, rather), says the following:

It is estimated most human beings only use 10 percent of their brains capacity. Imagine if we could access 100 percent. Interesting things begin to happen.

The premise is based on the idea that if we could just tap into some of that unused portion of our brains, we could better realize our potential and be able to do all sorts of things we currently are unable to do.

Today I'm going to show you how to use more than 10 percent of your brain.

On Using more than 10 Percent of Your Brain

So how can you tap more than 10 percent of your brain? Here's a practical technique:

Step 1) Lay down.

Step 2) Take a nap.

It turns out that even during sleep, "all parts of the brain show some level of activity." (See here for more on the ten percent myth.)

The very act of reading this blog is likely expending a good deal of mental energy.

On Fiction

Now I realize that fiction often involves the suspension of some belief (or accepting some belief as a premise.) One cannot watch, say, a zombie movie without at least buying the idea that the existence of zombies is possible. Some measure of belief acceptance or suspension is required.

But on the same token, I find stories, especially science fiction stories, that have, at least, a remote possibility to be more engaging than something based on an absolutely false premise. For example, I can willingly suspend my reservations on the possibility of the "Warp Drive" in Star Trek. Warp technology, at least at present, can't be ruled out entirely. NASA currently lists it as "speculation". But there are some physicists that think it may be possible. See here and here.

While I can't say whether or not the movie or story are any good, I'd have a hard time engaging a movie whose premise is based upon a myth (and one that will likely further perpetuate that myth.)

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