In ancient times, the brain of a defeated opponent was eaten, and this act symbolized the gaining of the opponent's strength. In the Middle Ages, the brain represented the center of life along with the heart. The theme of the human brain is still actively used in various films and video games. Today, everywhere there are various stereotypes about certain phenomena and the work of the brain – not an exception. Find out in the article about the myths about the human brain that scientists disprove.
Myth #1. The human brain only works at 10%
When specialists register brain activity, including the activity of nerve cells, it becomes possible to count the number of neurons that can be found during registration using a separate electrode. If the sensitivity of the electrode and the distance at which it “hears” neurons, and it is also clear that this electrode is capable of sensing neurons in a certain volume, thanks to morphological sections it is possible to establish that there are, say, 1000 cells in a given volume of the brain. However, when the electrode is in the brain, experts determine that there are very few active neurons, approximately 5-10% or even less.
This understanding of how the brain works is erroneous because the registration of these neurons occurs at the moment when a certain behavior is carried out by a person or animal. A person is not able to simultaneously perform various actions – skiing, driving a car, reading a book and playing the violin. Consequently, at the moment when one specific task is being carried out, some neurons are active, but when the time comes for the execution of another task – other neurons become active.
Thus, the fact that at a certain moment the activity of a small percentage of neurons – not at all a confirmation of the defective functioning of the brain.
Myth #2. The brain works like a computer
Quite often, people's idea of the brain is related to technical innovations that are relevant at the moment. Therefore, when the clock was the latest technological achievement, the brain was represented by a set of gears. With the advent of the telephone network, the image of the brain has changed, now it appears as a switching device that connects bundles of wires. In this regard, the fact that the brain is now compared with a computer – It is not at all surprising, because with the help of these machines it becomes possible to solve various complex problems.
However, this similarity is very misleading. A program that is stored in a computer's memory is executed by a processor, so computation and memory are separated. The brain lacks this division – calculations and memory are combined with each other, since memory is stored in the structure of connections between nerve cells that perform calculations. Therefore, a new program can be downloaded to the computer, which will provide completely different functionality on the existing processor. The same cannot be done with the brain, because in order to implement such a scheme, it will be necessary to simultaneously change the connections between millions of neurons.
The second difference between the brain and the computer is that in the brain, neurons can process information independently of each other, while in computers, calculations are organized in a certain sequence. Thus, when you remove any part of the program, the entire program crashes. The brain, on the other hand, remains functional even if some cells are unable to continue working.
Myth #3. The level of intelligence depends on the size of a person's brain
At first glance, everything is extremely simple – it is enough just to measure the level of intelligence and the size of the brain and determine whether one is connected with the other or not. But how can the level of intelligence be measured? Naturally, one can resort to standard IQ tests that allow one to establish the level of a person's intellectual abilities.
However, intelligence – this is not only the ability to untie puzzles or rotate some figure in space. Rather, it is the ability to find solutions to everyday problems and issues, the ability to plan and communicate. It is impossible to determine such abilities using standard tests, because in the vast majority they are performed in writing. In this regard, it makes no sense to compare the size of the brain with the level of intelligence. Studies on this topic, of course, were carried out, but the size of the brain explained only 10-15% of the results of tests to determine the level of intelligence.
Myth #4. The right hemisphere of the human brain is responsible for creativity, and the left – for rationality
This is partly true, but it is unequivocal to state that one of the hemispheres can prevail in solving creative or rational problems, since this greatly simplifies the idea of the work of the human brain.
The whole brain is involved in certain mental processes, so consider that one hemisphere is responsible for one process, and the second – for another, quite incorrectly. But still, there are tasks in the solution of which one of the hemispheres takes a more active part, while the other hemisphere also makes a significant contribution to this process. For example, if you need to write a certain text, in order to think about it, you need the work of both hemispheres, but when writing it, the left hemisphere works more actively.
According to the results of the study, which involved schoolchildren, winners of math Olympiads, among the gifted children were both right-handers and left-handers, and those who have the same manual dexterity. Thus, the subjects had a different distribution of functions over the hemispheres.
Myth #5. The human brain – gray matter
In reality, the structure of the brain is many times more complex than an unorganized structure, a kind of gray mass. The human brain consists of a huge number of structures and each of them has its own functions and complex organization.
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