Myth: We Only Use 10% of Our Brain
Apologies to the great scriptwriters for the movie Limitless as well as its later television show, but we do not just use 10% of our brain. Therefore, there is no pill that could be made to access all of it because it’s unneeded. It seems this myth began in 1908 by William James who simply wrote in The Energies of Men “we are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources.” Of course, this was obviously over 100 years ago and it never referenced the 10% concept that would later pop up. Today we know that unless one has a neurological condition, they will use 100% of their brain. The brain is so active during the day that it uses up roughly 20% of our body’s energy. We simply do not use 100% of our brain all day long, as it has different functions for different needs.