10% Brain Usage

3-24-06
It is a common myth or urban legend that we only use 10% of our brain. More interesting is that 80% or more of reality is actively held within our brains. I have referred to the movie "The Matrix" in that it brought the question of the nature of reality to audiences all over the world. Radical Constructivism says that the only reality is that which we behold by our senses. Research using adult ferrets by showing the ferrets movie scenes (The Matrix btw.), as well as random static and darkness, the research team was able to compare the change in the timing and spacing of neuron firings in response to visual input. They found patterns in the neuron firings for adult ferrets that were largely missing in infant ferrets. Like human infants, the visual systems of infant ferrets are immature – their eyes do not track moving objects. The researchers attributed the adult brain patterns to the development of visual perception. Interestingly, the majority of the patterns did not depend on the visual input. "This actually makes sense," Weliky said. "The biggest part of perception is taking cues from the outside world and passing them through our recollection." Weliky pondered the philosophical implications of having 80 percent of perception locked in our heads.