How do you feel about the 10% claim. that humans use only 10% brain power consciously

[Snoopy]

I always seen this claimed but never saw any evidence to support it, how do you feel about the idea or theory of humans consciously only using 10% of their brain manually. Most of us go day by day on Autopilot, what do you think a person who is using all capacity of his brain would look like or act/respond to other basic needs or challenges we face. What are your thoughts on this take I know it can get deeper when thinking about this sort of topic, leaning more into genetics and certain gene's or dormant gene's that have not been active, but I would like to hear the theory of my fellow occultist. I also heard that most of the brain's use/power resides in the subconscious, but I do not have much knowledge on this myself.

 

[Adelina]

I think this theory is totally made up. There are a lot of fantasies in science, and quite dangerous fantasies at that. Some try to weight soul, some try to control humanity by inserting chips in brains. Thankfully, human isn't made the way the modern scientists think he is.

Most of the occult practices require to have "clean" single-focused mind without any ongoing internal dialogue. 100% active brain would mean that you have huge flood of thoughts, being nearly overloaded. From that point of view, you are required to have 0-1% active brain. Also, brain =/= mind (while scientists think they are the same).

Even from technical point of view, if to make such a very crude comparison (which is wrong at many degrees, but it works for this case) of brain with CPUs, then situation is following: when CPU works at 100%, your PC is actually frozen and can't do anything. If your CPU is used by more than 10%, then you start noticing various slowdowns. If to assume, that brain works the same way, then at 100% the person would be in state of total paralysis.

Also, there were some cases, when people lacked part of brain (some victims of war around 100 years ago) or even whole brain (there was such clerk, who had no brains literally) and were able to function in society just fine.

To add on top of that, I knew a lot of seemingly highly intellectual people with Ph.D.s and such, who failed miserably in 2020-2021, they failed to see the cheapness of the show and allowed to jab them. Then they had their health totally ruined, and they didn't see any parallel of that with vaccination. This is another example, that conventional ideas about brain and various measures of its "power" are quite misleading.

Subconsciousness is also kind of very new term. It is actually intermediary state in line of "consciousness-subconsciousness-unconsciousness". Meanwhile, barely anyone uses words like "superconsciousness", though this term is also already tainted by psychologists. Rene Guenon wrote quite eloquently on this topic in one of his books.

In short: people can use their brain at 10%+, even at 100%, but still be mindless.

 

[IllusiveOwl]

Scientifically it's incorrect, it's a wives-tale and has no truth to it. Metaphorically it points out the titanic workload of the sub/unconscious compared to the egoic conscious self that's just a chunk of it.

The unconscious - the "90%" humans don't use - is still active and churning, we're just unaware of it sans the "intuitions" "impulses" "hunches" & "instincts" we get from it. The mind is like a horse we ride on, you could say the rider is the "10%", the ego, us. You direct the horse, but the horse does all the work and can collapse under you if it's not paid attention to.

To say we go through life on autopilot is an understatement: most people live life according to the description of the roles they've taken on, they act as a doctor should act, act as a father and husband should act, even when you're hanging out with the boys there's a code of conduct, it's programs we follow to be successful in the world, and we may enjoy them, but they're inauthentic, they're social-constructs. Then throw in the abstract, far off goals that people follow, an imaginary oasis decades into the intangible future. I wouldn't say autopilot, I would say hypnotized, anesthetized.

A being who becomes both the horse & rider? A 100%-er? That's enlightenment, that's what being awake means. To have clear communication & unity with the unconscious, taking in all the information it has to offer would give you suprahuman cognition. You would be getting more "reality" fed to you than most other people, because the unconscious acts as a filter. You would be able to see & interract with systems of reality incomprehensible to the average rider because you are also the horse, you have a connection to it, and that horse has an intimate connection to reality's true face, because it runs on it, and the ego, "you", just ride on it.

 

[Amur]

Here is it 2% Yeah never believed it. Seems like peoples subconsciousness is working perfectly well and bound to Truth as all other things are on this planet. Seems like the DNA code itself is bound to Truth so why would we escape it?

 

[Vandheer]

We can't just use all of it all the time because that would require a massive energy intake, well thats at least what I have read somewhere.

 

[Nocturne]

All of the brain is used, just for multiple things besides raw brain power or processing.
You just don't use all the raw brain power because you need it for memories, emotions and stuff like that.

 

[Lurker]

It's been 20 years since I read a book on neuroscience, but what that really means is that the brain is highly optimized into regions for performing different tasks. I don't need my whole brain to type this response, only a very small part of it, so it would be highly inefficient to wast energy in the un-needed parts. Therefore the part of my brain required to type this response is at a high level of activity while the rest of my brain is at a much lower level of activity. The evidence is in the form of brain scans such as MRIs.

We can't just use all of it all the time because that would require a massive energy intake, well thats at least what I have read somewhere.

That's right, and the brain would literally overheat and brain tissue would melt. Obviously such a brain would be a dead-end in terms of evolution.

Post automatically merged: Jan 23, 2025

Aack, "wast" => waste.

 

[Anziel_Merkaba]

This was bunked ages ago, and the only reason why it persisted as long as it did after that was because it was a good way for fiction to give their characters powers. In fact I would go so far as to say this theory was probably disproven before any of the movies or books that used it as a plot device were even shown/published.

 

[Konsciencia]

As I stated on another post, we were once a Highly Advanced Species. That includes, Telepathy Telekinesis, Hydrokineses. We used to throw Lazer beams from our eyes. What they told us in the Superman movies is real. We used to Teleport to places in physical mode. We use to fly physically. Like in Doctor Strange. So, if we used our full capacity of the Brain. We may get those abilities back. Unfortunately, we don't know how to tap in to the other 10% of the mind. Perhaps, we may find the answers if we keep on searching within.

 

[JenniferL]

Hello fellow Wizards! It's good to be in your presence.

I have long been fascinated with human biology, and the brain is a beautiful organ! I briefly attended university with the intention to work in the field of neurobiology/neurosurgery, but I was unable to overcome my absurd fear of needles. One should not attempt to operate on another human being's central nervous system if the sight of a needle makes one faint... Hah. Every time... Nevertheless, I was able to participate in anatomy and physiology courses that gave me an opportunity to spend some time in a cadaver lab. The human body is masterful, and though some may speculate that there are parts that go 'unused' or are unnecessary, I assure you all our parts have a purpose. (I am uncertain about the whole appendix debate, but that isn't relevant here). Rather than typing out the whole shebang relating to the brain and it's parts,

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that identifies the regions of the brain and each of their functions.
I hope this may prove to be helpful in coming to whatever conclusion you wish to regarding how much of the brain we use.

My humble opinion, we absolutely need and use all of our brain. As the other commenters have noted, we do not use all parts at once, but for different functions throughout the day. There are some fascinating case studies where research was conducted to study the brains of those who would be considered as having psychopathic behavior, and it showed that there are parts of their brains that have literally atrophied. They can still function, but there are obvious signs that they aren't quite right...
Also, growing up I had a guy-friend who was an avid skateboarder. However, he suffered from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head, and a large portion of his frontal lobe was permanently damaged. He survived, but he had reduced motor function control and his balance was drastically affected. He had some speech impediments, but he could articulate and communicate just fine- meaning he had no changes in his ability to communicate and articulate what happened to him. His memory was fully intact and he still had a wicked sense of humor. Needless to say, he could never skateboard again, and walked with the assistance of a cane. That was 20 years ago, and his conditions never improved to a normal degree but he found ways to improve where he could.
So, while it is possible to live without all parts of the brain, those of us without any severe behavioral health issues or disease or permanent brain injuries use 100% of our brain- just not all at once. :0)
I hope you all have a beautiful day. Om, J

 

[Xenophon]

The meme was authored by someone using rather than 10%. It's a rhetorical device for shaming tired employees for feeling tired.

There IS a point to it, however. Most folks lack mental discipline. Magick training quickly provides that. You learn that, yes Buckwheat, you CAN concdentrate. You CAN "stop thinking about" something. You CAN focus. But, yeah. The glib hyperbole of the 10% claim gets annoying.

 

[HoldAll]

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[Mars]

I can imagine it's not like a glass that can be filled to 100% but is only filled 10%. But that on average we have 100% and distribute it to multiple glasses 10% But with certain things like Magic that glass gets more "water" when its used.

Hindu teachings allude to similar but call it "Prana" or "Breath" instead of water.

 

[tiffra]

I agree with the efficiency of the brain argument. However, I would conclude that those who have yet to reach the level of awareness that allows us to even discuss this very topic simply waste more of that processing power than others. Ex. I am a knowledge seeker. Always have been, so most of my resources go to mental facilities. I don't even keep up with the day of the week. To me, that goes into the category of common knowledge. What is needed is readily available to me, pretty much stored in any given person's brain that I can access whenever needed. There by saving more space and energy for me to ponder on bigger things. Don't judge me lol. Seriously, though, I welcome all feedback and perspectives on my outlook.

 

[neilwilkes]

The reality is that we don't use all of our brain all of the time, but there are cases of people with less cerebral material still being just fine.
I don't know where the 10% number comes from but I would take it with a large pinch of salt washed down with a good slug of scepticism.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

I see the mind as being like an 'app' - it needs the rest of the brain's 'operating system' to run, but only takes up 10% of it (that figure is ofc a complete guess, but it is the figure we were talking about )

Needless to say, it bears no resemblance to actual apps or actual operating systems

 

[neilwilkes]

I see the mind as being like an 'app' - it needs the rest of the brain's 'operating system' to run, but only takes up 10% of it (that figure is ofc a complete guess, but it is the figure we were talking about )

Needless to say, it bears no resemblance to actual apps or actual operating systems

Interesting idea! I like it though.
I wonder where memories are stored & how they are accessed.
What is consciousness - real or illusory?

 

[Robert Ramsay]

Interesting idea! I like it though.
I wonder where memories are stored & how they are accessed.
What is consciousness - real or illusory?

I consider this paper to be one of the most important:

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It shows that investigation purely of the hardware, or even the current flows, of a CPU, do not make it possible to uinderstand the software that runs on that processor - and this is for a piece of hardware that we totally understand. Multiply that task by a gazillion and you have the brain and the mind.

Nothing supernatural is happening; it is just not a human comprehensible task.

So yes, consciousness is real, just as software is real. But as the old joke goes: "If the brain was simple enough to understand, we'd be so simple we couldn't."

 

[RoccoR]

RE: How do you feel about the 10% claim. that humans use only 10% brain power consciously
SUBTOPIC: Back on topic!
⁜→ et al,

The 10% claim is as backward as the "Four Food Groups." IF the 10% usage claim is true, THEN there would be little or no activity in 90% of the Brain. Any current

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(Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) or PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan would demonstrate that this is not true.

Science does not currently understand how the chemical and electrical signals communicate with the billions of neurons that come together to exercise control over the many thousands of respondents throughout the body, establish memory devices, and learn to accumulate knowledge. Science does know (at least in part) what the 12 nerves, called cranial nerves, facilitate control of in the brain. But science can not yet duplicate this system or know the processor language to build even the simplest of functions.

Just my two cents' worth,

Most Respectfully,
R

 

[magick&psionics]

I always seen this claimed but never saw any evidence to support it, how do you feel about the idea or theory of humans consciously only using 10% of their brain manually. Most of us go day by day on Autopilot, what do you think a person who is using all capacity of his brain would look like or act/respond to other basic needs or challenges we face. What are your thoughts on this take I know it can get deeper when thinking about this sort of topic, leaning more into genetics and certain gene's or dormant gene's that have not been active, but I would like to hear the theory of my fellow occultist. I also heard that most of the brain's use/power resides in the subconscious, but I do not have much knowledge on this myself.

I feel like having access to more than ten percent of the brain would be a little too much. But I also feel that bringing the subconscious to conscious is another form of waking up. I just don't wanna have to manually breath or beat my own heart lol.