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I believed in 8 out of the 10 myths I have included in this list before I went to college. Brain myths are extremely popular and very believable, because the myths are attractive in themselves.
And some of them – like – we just use 10% – are appealing because we think we can achieve much more if we push ourselves.
The truth is, we can become more intelligent, but not because of the 10 percent myth. Read on to know about the really popular misconceptions regarding brains.
1. The brain is grey in color
Although we refer to intelligence as grey matter in the brain, the brain itself is not all grey in color. Most of us have this idea because the brains preserved in our biology labs in schools look grey.
They look grey because they have been dead and preserved that way.
A live brain has the colors white, black and even red in addition to grey.
2. Your memory is all that you have experienced
Most of us can never recall an incident perfectly. We, as humans think we can recall our important memories exactly as wish to, but we cannot.
In short we make many errors while making memories.
3. We only use 10% of our brains
There is no proof that we only use 10% of our brain. It is one of those myths that everyone just went with and thought it to be true.
Brain scans have shown that no matter what we are doing, our brains are always active.
4. Brain games make you smarter
When you play these brain power games, you do not get smarter at all. You just get better at playing those games.
They are not increasing your brain power at all like they claim to. But you do get ridiculously better at playing those games though.
5. Your IQ is fixed and stays the same throughout your life
Turns out, you can get smarter in life. But the only catch here is that the older you get the harder it is to get smarter. Researchers agree that intelligence can be worked upon and improved upon but these intelligence scores get more stable the more you age.
If you do want to get smarter, make the most of it when you are young.
6. Your brain works well under pressure
Deadlines are great motivators to get things done, but the science says that any kind of stress is bad for your brain and leads to less productivity. When stress is applied, the brain handles it by releasing hormones that enhance the productivity for a short while.
But these hormones kill brain cells, affecting your abilities in the long run.
7. Humans have the largest brain
Have you ever observed a person saying “Oh my god! He has got a big brain!”
Somehow, we equate intelligence with the size of the brain. but it is not so. Because then whales would be so much smarter than us, because they have bigger brains.
I am sorry to say but in the realm of brains – size doesn’t matter.
8. Emotions are detrimental to decision-making
Actually removing emotions from your decision-making will lead to horrible decisions.
Popular movie characters like Spock and Yoda have been known to remove emotion and use only cold logic, but science says that emotions are vital for making right decisions.
9. Omega 3 and all that cod liver and shark liver oil are good for your brains
Yes, the brain requires good nutrients to function optimally, but there has been no conclusive proof that Omega 3 fats actually help in making you smarter.
On the contrary, there was a study that showed that omega 3 fatty acids have absolutely no effect at all on brains.
All those cod liver capsules you had were basically just placebos.
10. Brain damage is permanent damage
Brain damage is extremely serious and it is possibly the worst thing that can happen to you, and yes – it is hard to recover from brain damage. But brain damage is not permanent.
Turns out our brains are extremely awesome at repairing themselves – to the extent to regenerating themselves too. The term for it is called Neurogenesis.
Now you know these facts, you are more knowledgeable!
But alas, not smarter. 😛
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