[neilep (OP)]

I realise that we only use a fraction of our brain capacity but then I wonder...do we really ?...could it be that the other percentage is in fact used but we just do not know how ?

Is there a definitive capacity as to how much knowledge a person can learn ?..Is there a ' physicality barrier ' to it ?.......what would happen should the brain reach it's capacity for knowledge ?...is there an overflow ?

will there be a break down ?


I don't know and probably nor do you. (or do you ?) ..........which is why I welcome your speculations also !!

 whajafink ?

Neil
xxxx  hugs & shmishes

[ROBERT]

I realise that we only use a fraction of our brain capacity

This is a myth..
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html

[another_someone]

In its literal sense, it is a myth.

What I suspect it actually means is that only 10% (maybe even less) of our brain is used for conscious thought and problem solving - most of it is used for far more mundane tasks, such as walking in a straight line, interpreting vision and sound.

In one way, the brain cannot overflow, in another way, it is always overflowing.

How accurately computer neural networks mimic the actual behaviour of the brain is open to debate, but certainly they were designed on the assumption that they do in some way mimic the behaviour of the brain.  One of the interesting things about neural networks is that if they are large enough to remember everything, they stop working - they work because they forget.  What I mean by this is that remembering every fact you were ever exposed to would be a great act of memory, but would be a total lack of intelligence.  Intelligence works as a means of compressing facts, so when the brain has too many facts, rather than remember each facts, it tries to remember a pattern that links the facts together.  This way, it can then forget the individual facts, but simply remember the pattern.  But the good thing about remembering patterns is that one can create within one's own mind facts that one never actually ever encountered in real life simply by remembering that pattern, and feeding input into that pattern that differs from any of the input you actually encountered - so now you have generalised intelligence as a direct byproduct of having insufficient memory.

Also, don't forget that the brain also requires a fair amount of redundancy since it has to survive a good number of decades, over which time it will inevitably sustain some degree of injury, and yet it must still keep functioning.

An interesting association is that I believe a large part of the DNA in our cells also seems to be superfluous (DNA also contains information, albeit of a different nature, and stored over a different time frame; and DNA is also highly susceptible to damage, but must still maintain its integrity over time).

Away from the field of information processing, most people only use 50% of their kidneys (i.e. most people have 2 kidneys, and yet there are people who are walking around with only one working kidney, so clearly we have built in at least 100% overcapacity in our kidneys simply to allow for wear and tear over a lifetime).

[paul.fr]

Hi Neil,

George has already given a pretty good reply, but i will add:

If i remember correctly, The "myth" about us only using 10% of our brains was first us to sell a book.

It was one of those self help books, and i forget who the author was, in the same genre as "how to win friends, and influence people"

As george has previously stated, we do use all of our brain for different reasons and tasks. If we did not then the brain would be using far more energy and our blood supply than was needed.

One way in which people do not use all of their brain, is if they have suffered severe head trauma.

[neilep (OP)]

I realise that we only use a fraction of our brain capacity

This is a myth..
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html

Wonderful...thank You Robert !......great link !.......Hugs the Robert !!

[neilep (OP)]

THANK YOU GEORGE and THANK YOU Paul

I did suspect that it was a myth, hence my (do we really ?)

George, wonderful post and thank you for the time it took to respond....very interesting indeed.and now I know.

Thanks also Paul.....your input is greatly appreciated.

I see that without even knowing it our brain is working all the time....after all..it has a whole body and all it's processes to manage too.




Thank you all.

[ROBERT]

I've heard it said that "you are your brain", however there may be more to it...

Medical opinion is sceptical over whether organ recipients can gain more than just a lifeline from their transplants. But Gary Schwartz, a professor of medicine, neurology, psychiatry and surgery at the University of Arizona, says research by a team he leads has found definite links. He calls it 'cellular memory'.

He has documented 70 cases where he believes transplant recipients have inherited the traits of their donors.

 Prof Schwartz said: "When the organ is placed in the recipient, the information and energy stored in the organ is passed on to the recipient. The theory applies to any organ that has cells that are interconnected. They could be kidneys, liver and even muscles.

"The stories we have uncovered are very compelling and are completely consistent."

He says his studies have found that heart transplant patients are the most likely to experience personality changes.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=381589&in_page_id=1774

[neilep (OP)]

Wow !!..........Though I find it discouraging that perhaps my pancreas has a nicer personality than me !  []

Thank you Robert !!..really fascinating !

[BillJx]

I realise that we only use a fraction of our brain capacity

This is a myth..
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html

The evolution of the human brain was very difficult.
1) The two largest oxygen users are the digestive system and the brain.  To increase brain size, we had to simplify the digestive system.  Look at the relative size of a chimp's abdomen.
2) A larger skull size means more difficult birth.  There is an evolutionary trade-off between intelligence and childbirth deaths.
3) There are several adaptations in terms of early brain and skull development, to allow delivery of a large head.

With all this evolutionary pressure, it follows that the brain itself is tightly packed and fully utilized.

I always thought the 10% thing was meant as a figurative expression in terms of playing the instruments we were born with.