Using Just 10% of Your

Brain?
Why multitasking is a losing proposition, and our brain
energy is limited.
Posted Nov 28, 2013

An   earlier   post   debunked  the   myth   that   we   use   only   10%   of   our   brain.   According   to  
this  tale,  90%  of  our  brain  stands  idly  by,  waiting  to  be  recruited  for  spare  capacity.  The  
fantastic  logic  behind  this  idea  should  be  apparent:  the  reverse  argument  implies  that  
we   are   poised   to   tap   into   extraordinary   latent   abilities.   Neither   of   these   premises   is  
remotely   true.   Yet   hucksters   boasting   methods   “based   on  neuroscience”   promise   to  
unleash  hidden  potential.  What  they  actually  unlock  is  your  wallet.  

Nonetheless,  two–thirds  of  the  public  and  nearly  half  of  science  teachers  believe  the  
10%  myth,  which  shows  how  hard  it  is  for  facts  to  crowd  out  mistaken  attitudes.  More  
than  75%  of  science  teachers  believe  that  enriching  a  child’s  environment—with  Baby  
Einstein  videos,  for  instance—strengthens  the  brain.  It  is  true  that  growing  up  locked  
in   closet   or   otherwise   deprived   of   human   contact   demonstrably   impairs   a   growing  
brain;   it   does   not   follow   that   enriching   a   child’s   environment   beyond   what   is   typical  
will  boost  cognitive  development.  

The   idea   that   we   don’t   utilize   all   of   our   brain   capacity   emerged   perhaps   in   the  
19th  Century  when  neurology  first  burgeoned  as  a  science.  In  the  1890s  William  James,  
the  father  American  psychology,  said,  “Most  of  us  do  not  meet  our  mental  potential.”  
James  meant  this  as  a  challenge  rather  than  an  indictment  of  insufficient  brain  usage.  
Nonetheless,   the   charge   stuck.   For   a   long   time   also,   scientists   could   assign   no   function  
to   the   great   expanse   of   the   frontal   lobes   or   the   equally   large   association   areas   of  
parietal   cortex.   Circular   reasoning   concluded   that   because   damage   to   these   areas  
didn’t   cause   motor   or   sensory   deficits,   they   therefore   didn’t   “do   anything.”   For  
decades   these   brain   parts   were   known   as   “silent   areas”   because   their   function  
remained   unknown.   Today   we   appreciate   that   they   underscore   executive   and  
integrative  functions  without  which  we  would  hardly  be  human.  

These   cortical   expanses   are   crucial   to   reasoning,   planning,   deciding,   and   adapting   to  
circumstances.   They   lie   behind   our   most   abstract   reasoning.   We   usually   talk   about   the  
brain  in  terms  of  computing  power,  but  look  what  happens  when  we  regard  it  in  terms  
of  energy  cost.  

Rodent  and  canine  brains  consume  5%  of  total  body  energy.  Monkey  brains  use  10%.  
An  adult  human  brain  accounts  for  only  2%  of  the  body’s  mass,  yet  consumes  44%  of  
daily  glucose  burned,  far  more  than  expected  for  its  relative  size.  Brain  size  scales  with  
body  size.  Human  brains  weigh  1.5  Kg,  elephant  brains  5  Kg,  and  whale  brains  9  Kg.  Yet  
on  a  per  weight  basis,  human  brains  are  packed  with  more  neurons  than  other  species.  
This  dense  packing  is  what  makes  us  so  smart.  

There   is   a   tradeoff   between   body   size   and   the   number   of   neurons   that   a   primate,  
including  us,  can  sustain.  A  25  Kg  ape  has  to  eat  8  hours  a  day  to  sustain  a  brain  of  53  
billion   neurons.   The   invention   of   cooking   one–and–a   half–million   years   ago   gave  
humans   a   huge   advantage.   Cooked   food   is   rendered   soft   and   predigested   outside   of  
the  body.  Our  guts  more  easily  absorb  its  energy.  Cooking  frees  up  time  and  gives  us  
more  energy  than  if  we  ate  raw  foodstuffs.  As  a  result  we  sustain  a  brain  of  86  billion  
densely  packed  neurons.  

It  still  turns  out  that  neuronal  activity  is  costly  in  terms  of  energy  use.  Most  of  the  daily  
calories  that  the  brain  burns  go  toward  housekeeping:  pumping  sodium  and  potassium  
ions  across  membranes  to  maintain  an  electrical  charge  and  keep  the  structure  intact.  

The   brain   is   an   energy   hog.   It   consumes   an   astounding   3.4   x   1021  ATP   molecules   per  
minute   (ATP   is   the   coal   of   the   body’s   furnace).   The   mere   cost   of   maintaining   resting  
potentials  in  all  of  our  neurons  means  that  little  energy  is  left  for  neuronal  spikes—the  
nerve  discharges  that  actually  get  things  done.  

Even   given   a   few   percent   of   firing   neurons   in   a   local   region,   the   energy   burden   of  
generating   spikes   over   the   entire   cortex   is   unsustainable.   Far   less   than   10%   is   the  
energy  limit  we  must  live  with.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  selective  attention  exists—our  
focus  on  one  thing  at  a  time.  It  is  why  multitasking  is  a  fool’s  errand:  We  simply  lack  
the  energy  to  do  two  things  at  once,  let  alone  thre  or  five.  When  we  try  to  multitask  
we  do  each  task  less  well  than  if  we’d  given  it  our  full  attention.  

 Any   practical   solution   to   the   energy   limit   demands   that   we   give   ourselves   more  
brainpower.   But   how?   Fans   of   Dr.   Who   might   turn   to   the   Ood,   aliens   who   hold   a  
glowing  orb  of  a  supplemental  brain  in  their  hand.  This  might  sound  silly,  but  real  life  
has   caught   up   with   science   fiction.   Every   day   you   see   hundreds   of   people   wielding  
supplementary    

 
Richard   E.   Cytowic,   MD,   MFA,   professor   of   neurology   at   George   Washington  
University,   is   known   for   returning   synesthesia   to   mainstream   science.  Wednesday   Is  
Indigo  Blue,  with  David  Eagleman,  won  the  Montaigne  Medal.