What's going on with the rest of our brain?

Zantra

I don't know if this necessarily belongs in the philosophy section, but we'll try it on for size.

So as you all know, we use maybe 10 percent of our brain's capacity(some use considerably less, but that's another topic[;)]). Einstein purportedly used maybe 20% of his brain(this may be an overestimatation). So what about the other 80 percent? What untapped powers lie in the vastly umapped synapses of our conciousness? Some would jump on the telekenetic powers bandwangon, saying we could move things with our mind, etc. I'm not one of them personally. But what mysteries of the universe could we comprehend, or solve if we maxed it out? Certainly discoveries would exponentially speed up. I can't think of the book, but one novel addressed this where supposedly we'd been in some sort of cosmic radiation field, and we finally swung out of it, and it turns out that it had been slowing our minds from thier full potential. Suddenly animals could speak, and spoken word gave way to communication by thought.

Now I'm not looking for radical ideas here, just some logic, educated theories as to what lies in the untapped and unused.

maximus

the old saying that humans only use 10% of their brain is not scientifically accurate. if you hook electrodes up to a person and monitor their brain, every part is being used. what the saying is trying to say, i think, is that we only use 10% of our potensial intellect.

don't take this too seriously. it's just another one of those annoying things that scientifically ignorant people (who think they're smart) say. like the old "your blood is blue until it touches oxygen", or "when you clap your hands together, they never really touch becuase you are compressing air so rapidly that that is what you feel".

Zantra

Ok but still, the question is modified, still remains. What if we were to realize our "full intellect"? So are you saying there is no scientific basis for the estimate that we are not realizing our full potential? Obviously there is room for variance as the difference between the average intelligence and the highest recorded IQ is about 165, which is staggering. Even if at the least, we were all Einstiens, it would change the way we percieve things..

Iacchus32

Ever find yourself "straining to think?" To where you finally give yourself a headache? What percentage of the brain is actually allowed for "intellectual thought?"

Zantra

Certainly less than 100 percent, and thus my question

Iacchus32

And yet the brain has a myriad of other things to do (on a subconscious level) besides question itself? [:)]

Sorry, I don't know?

maximus

i am willing to agree that for most of us, we have the potencial to be more intelligent if we put our minds to it. not 90% more intelligent, however. i believe that we cannot all be einsteins. genetics simply favours some more than others.

jammieg

I ran across on odd scientific tidbit some time ago that actually smarter people's brains will respond to problems by exhibiting less EEG measures or they will solve the same problem with less biochemical effort.

wuliheron

Yeah, it was proven using magnetic resonance imaging. Basically, more intelligent people think less. The various parts of their brains dedicated to solving any particular part of a puzzle will do their thing and stop. Less intelligent people will worry about being wrong, take circuitous routes to the same answer, or whatever and use more of their brain power less effeciently.

Zantra

Right but I'm posing a "what if" scenario whereby through genetic engineering, or whatever means, you could seed everyone born with equal intelligence? Would not even 2 Einsteins drastically revolutionize human understanding? If for instance, one could see what the other could not, or cover all the bases. And lets say that though science could give us increased intelligence, it could not determine the area of increased intelligence. With that variable in place, all the bases would be covered. One might be right brain, other left, another equally, and so on and so on....

Regardless of the exact percentage, we are in agreement that there is untapped potentential, and that it could benefit mankind. The question is how would it manifest itsself ?

As far as the less is more theory of intelligence.. If Einstein had been intelligent enough to designate a small portion of his mind to Unified theory will the majority of his mind ventured into other places such as realistic interstellar travel, or even time travel.. then who knows what achievements he might have made ?

maximus

this race of einsteins would not all turn out equally intelligent. enviournment also plays a part.

Zantra

Ok but you're missing my point. OK supposed that the average intellingence for the human race was raise to 250? What then ?

sheldon

Ok if our brain was more than it is now, average IQ. We would all be the same dumb people we are today, but with extra crap to think about and ponder. The reason we forget is so an experience seems new again. The reason it is hard but not impossible is because that is more fun. If our brains were bigger or more powerful we could move things with our mind and crud like that. We could design a better space ship. We would still not know why women do the things they do or why men do the things they do. We may solve more problems but these will pose more questions to solve. This is a never ending fun game that we have been alowed somehow to play.

Zantra

If Einstien, Newton, and Descartes all got together and spent years trying to figure that one out I bet they still couldn't[:))]

maximus

i doubt it.

jammieg

Funny Sheldon, intelligence would be relative, if everyone had 250 then it would be considered 100, and people would still deviate to more or less. A race of Einsteins would probably be a very screwy world with too many bad hair cuts, I mean Einstein seemed more like a specialist thinker. Did you know Einstein loved philosophy, but had a failed first marriage-I don't feel so bad now.

Zantra

Funny you should mention. I was just reading this book on Einstien. His first marriage failed, I believe, largely due to his constant time away from home doing lectures, tours, working, etc. Of course it was also said he wasn't exactly personable. I could totally see that happening. If you marry someone who's vastly intellectually inferior to you, then over a long period of time the relationship would diminish.. But hey, I'm no Dr. Phil or anything.. Just an educated guess.