Normally, in this type of article it is advisable not to use the first paragraph to give an answer to the question posed in the title. However, there are special cases, such as this one, in which it is practically impossible to make an uncertainty last that is based on the most absolute of the swims.

We use only 10% of the brain: one of the most popular scientific myths

No, it is not true that we use only 10% of the brain . This is a myth, in the first place, because it is based on a statement that is too ambiguous not to be true (what does “using the brain” mean? How is the remaining 90% distributed?) and, secondly, because although it is disguised as scientific knowledge when it is raised as a matter of percentages, it is not supported by empirical evidence (in fact, the origin of this idea is attributed to Albert Einstein , one of the greatest scientific references who, despite his merits, was not specialized in the functioning of the brain).

However, despite the imprecision of this belief, it is possible to refute it on several fronts. Precisely because, in addition to being ambiguous, it is wrong.

10% of the brain means low efficiency

First of all, it should be noted that unused brain tissue is probably dead brain tissue. Our organism functions according to the strictest criteria of efficiency, and many parts of the body that are not being wasted tend to be converted into something more useful .

Neurons, specifically, are subject to a type of ordered and programmed cell death, called apoptosis , which serves to improve the overall functioning of the brain. In this way, the materials with which these cells were made are reused and space is left for other connections. On an individual level, moreover, neurons need to receive electrical shocks with a certain frequency in order not to die.

A burden for evolution

Besides, a big and useless brain, like the one we would have if the myth of the 10% of the brain were true, is a burden from the evolutionary point of view . No animal is interested in having an overdeveloped organ that does not use everything it should: more than a potential, it is a problem. The human brain, in particular, heads the ranking of the organs that consume the most energy, and therefore it does not make sense to maintain a part that is useless. It would be of no use if the remaining 90% could be “unblocked” and used in the future: if by default it were not used, evolution would have filed it down over the millennia until it practically disappeared.

Switch on and off

Let’s imagine for a moment that this hidden part of the brain was not located in a fixed place, but was constantly changing, and that it could not be located in a specific place in the brain, but was distributed by the neural networks that live in us. Would it make sense to believe that we only use 10% of the brain? Well, no, it doesn’t.

Functionally, the fact that at certain times there are “off” neurons does not mean that they are not used. Like good nerve cells, part of the process by which neurons communicate with each other is based on the rate at which electricity is fired. Therefore, since the information they work with is, at certain times, the rate of firing, there need to be times when there is not a surge of electricity running through the neuron. In the same way, for the brain to be useful, it is necessary for there to be areas of tissue that are more active than others: when we are listening to a piece of music it is not essential to have the language centres very much activated, and when we are trying to recognise someone’s face it is not necessary to mentally rehearse the sequence of positions of tai chi. To have all the areas of the brain intensely activated would be impractical and would also have disastrous consequences for health and the maintenance of consciousness.

The Unfathomable Realm of the Unconscious

The concept of consciousness also provides a key to why it is not wrong to believe that we only use 10% of the brain. The brain is basically an organ that is dedicated to maintaining unconscious processes. Consciousness is dwarfed by the enormous amount of unconscious tasks we perform every day: from directing most facial gestures, to maintaining balance, to involuntarily remembering a past experience, to associating a word we have read in a magazine with a piece of music.

The unconscious governs almost all our actions, and not because it is discreet does it cease to exist. It is possible that the myth of the 10% of the brain is based on the will to dominate all those processes that we cannot control and that, nevertheless, show an incredible power and versatility. Unrealistic aspirations, of course, if we take into account that consciousness hardly gives us to divide and multiply relatively short figures mentally. The boundaries of consciousness may be narrow, but they do not constrain our potential.