How much of their brains do humans normally use? Was your answer 10%? Most likely; this is a statistic you have heard all your life - and it is wrong.

No one knows exactly where this myth started. One quote from psychologist William James, in 1908 states: “We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources”.

Of course this was before the days of fMRI and PET scans that can show the regions of brain that are activated during the performance of different tasks and functions. While it is true that all regions of the brain may not be active at any one time, it is not true that we use only 10% of our brain’s capacity. Over the course of a day - even during sleep - different activities will call different regions of the brain into action.

Why does this myth persist in the media and popular culture? Psychologists suggest it may be due in part to our desire to believe in our unlimited potential, that with training and concentration, we could harness the brain’s untapped resources and improve our lives, gaining an advantage over others.

Psychics and others have often used the “10% myth” to explain psychic powers and paranormal experiences. They assert that if we use only 10% of our brains then the other 90% is available for the development of psychic powers. Famed psychic Uri Geller, who claims to be able to bend spoons with his mind, wrote in his 1996 book Uri Geller’s Mindpower Kit: “In fact, most of us use only about 10 percent of our brains, if that.” In fact, that is clearly and scientifically untrue.

Additional resources:

Snopes.com

Live Science - Most Popular Myths in Science

The New England Skeptical Society - The Psychology of the 10% Brain Myth