The truth about “using only 10% of your brain”: virtually every part of the brain is active almost all the time — the organ is 2% of body mass but burns about 20% of your energy, which no body would spend on idle tissue; the line likely grew out of a misread William James remark about untapped potential

The idea that we use only a tenth of our brains is appealing. It suggests a huge reserve waiting to be switched on. But the science points the other way. Ask what the brain is doing at any moment and the answer is, roughly, everything. There is no dark 90 percent sitting idle, waiting for [...] The post The truth about “using only 10% of your brain”: virtually every part of the brain is active almost all the time — the organ is 2% of body mass but burns about 20% of your energy, which no body wo