the 10 percent theory (1 Viewer)

HelterSkelter

Senior Member
Apr 15, 2005
20,600
#1
the theory or rather the myth that states that man is only able to use 10% of his mind,and if he was able to use the other 90% percent he would have supernatural powers.
do you people belive it?
discuss.
i searched google but all i got were articles written by various people,no solid proof of the 10% myth being correct or incorrect.
 

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HelterSkelter

HelterSkelter

Senior Member
Apr 15, 2005
20,600
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread Starter #3
    duno.i dont think its a theory,i guess i used the wrong term in the title.its more of a myth.

    ill quote some stuff from a website :


    That tired Ten-Percent claim pops up all the time. In 1998, national magazine ads for U.S. Satellite Broadcasting showed a drawing of a brain. Under it was the caption, "You only use 11 percent of its potential." Well, they're a little closer than the ten-percent figure, but still off by about 89 percent. In July 1998, ABC television ran promotional spots for The Secret Lives of Men, one of their offerings for the fall season's lineup. The spot featured a full-screen blurb that read, "Men only use ten percent of their brains."

    One reason this myth has endured is that it has been adopted by psychics and other paranormal pushers to explain psychic powers. On more than one occasion I've heard psychics tell their audiences, "We only use ten percent of our minds. If scientists don't know what we do with the other ninety percent, it must be used for psychic powers!" In Reason To Believe: A Practical Guide to Psychic Phenomena, author Michael Clark mentions a man named Craig Karges. Karges charges a lot of money for his "Intuitive Edge" program, designed to develop natural psychic abilities. Clark quotes Karges as saying: "We normally use only 10 to 20 percent of our minds. Think how different your life would be if you could utilize that other 80 to 90 percent known as the subconscious mind."

    This was also the reason that Caroline Myss gave for her alleged intuitive powers on a segment of Eye to Eye with Bryant Gumbel, which aired in July of 1998. Myss, who has written books on unleashing "intuitive powers," said that everyone has intuitive gifts, and lamented that we use so little of the mind's potential. To make matters worse, just the week before, on the very same program, correct information was presented about the myth. In a bumper spot between the program and commercials, a quick quiz flashed onscreen: What percentage of the brain is used? The multiple-choice answers ranged from 10 percent to 100 percent. The correct answer appeared, which I was glad to see. But if the producers knew that what one of their interviewees said is clearly and demonstrably inaccurate, why did they let it air? Does the right brain not know what the left brain is doing? Perhaps the Myss interview was a repeat, in which case the producers presumably checked her facts after it aired and felt some responsibility to correct the error in the following week's broadcast. Or possibly the broadcasts aired in sequence and the producers simply did not care and broadcast Myss and her misinformation anyway.

    Even Uri Geller, who has made a career out of trying to convince people he can bend metal with his mind, trots out this little gem. This claim appears in his book Uri Geller's Mind-Power Book in the introduction: "Our minds are capable of remarkable, incredible feats, yet we don't use them to their full capacity. In fact, most of us only use about 10 per cent of our brains, if that. The other 90 per cent is full of untapped potential and undiscovered abilities, which means our minds are only operating in a very limited way instead of at full stretch. I believe that we once had full power over our minds. We had to, in order to survive, but as our world has become more sophisticated and complex we have forgotten many of the abilities we once had" (italicized phrases emphasized in original).
     

    Zé Tahir

    JhoolayLaaaal!
    Moderator
    Dec 10, 2004
    29,281
    #4
    Oh I see what you mean. Uri Geller, is a crazy man. You won't find many freaky people like him :D

    btw, this is what I found on wikipedia:

    A common myth is that human beings only use ten percent of our brains. This is false; we use our entire brains. The myth likely had its source in an advertisement or a misunderstanding of neurological research in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Some psychics help to prolong this myth by asserting that the "unused" ninety percent of the human brain is capable of exhibiting psychic powers, and can be trained to perform psychokinesis and extra-sensory perception. A less literal interpretation of the statement is, however, valid. It can be reasonably claimed that most people only use a very small fraction of the cognitive potential of their brain, even though all individual brain neurons are busily working. Various cultural inventions enable humans to better utilise their cognitive potential, such as reading, education, solving puzzles, critical thinking, etc.
     

    Eaglesnake_1

    Senior Member
    Mar 28, 2004
    2,308
    #6
    axlrose85 said:
    the theory or rather the myth that states that man is only able to use 10% of his mind,and if he was able to use the other 90% percent he would have supernatural powers.
    do you people belive it?
    discuss.
    i searched google but all i got were articles written by various people,no solid proof of the 10% myth being correct or incorrect.
    Is the same theory that Lucianone appling so sucesfully to football; Thats why we loose 10% of the games and win the other 90%.....;)
     

    Zé Tahir

    JhoolayLaaaal!
    Moderator
    Dec 10, 2004
    29,281
    #7
    RochemBeck said:
    Yo Ze, you should drive to Burke's house tonight. We're having a good old time. :D
    aww man, should have told me earlier. I'm in potomac right now, watching a cricket math :p

    thanx for the offer though
     

    Bjerknes

    "Top Economist"
    Mar 16, 2004
    116,165
    #8
    Zé Tahir said:
    aww man, should have told me earlier. I'm in potomac right now, watching a cricket math :p

    thanx for the offer though
    We are too drunk right now. We are chillen with Burke's mom....she is cool as shit:D


    Damn its only a 30 minute drive.
     
    Mar 6, 2005
    6,223
    #9
    Well, maybe by them saying "You only use 10% of your brain", by "you" they mean your conscious self... hmm? :D

    That'd mean that the theory would be somewhat correct.. ;)
     

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