Re: Zapping your brain during REM = %8 more memory

["Dude VanWinkle" <dudevanwinkle () gmail com>]

On 11/7/06, Valdis.Kletnieks () vt edu <Valdis.Kletnieks () vt edu> wrote:

> http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percnt.htm


from the link:

Part of the reason for the long life of the myth is that if one
variant can be proven incorrect, the person who held the belief can
simply shift the reason for his belief to another basis, while the
belief itself stays intact. So, for example, if a person is shown that
PET scans depict activity throughout the entire brain, he can still
claim that, well, the ninety percent figure really referred to the
subconscious mind, and therefore the Ten-Percent figure is still
basically correct.

---------------------------------------

They may have to update this because I will take the route of saying
that our brains run at 10 efficiency or that 10 percent of its
potential. I know that our entire brain has electrical activity and am
not suggesting that ninety percent is dark. Consider the fact that
some people  have a photographic memory and others can perform complex
calculations faster than another person with a calculator. Look at
people like Kim Peek (the inspiration behind the move rain man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Peek).

Now some people think that his savant abilities are only available to
him because some other parts of his brain functions are unavailable,
but it still goes to show that our brains are capable of much more
than we currently use it for.

This is why, even though its listed on snopes.com as being untrue,
that I will still continue to quote that fallacy. I will admit that
the 10% statistic is completely arbitrary, but it is a well known fact
that 47.3 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot ;-)

-JP<who forgot how to use his photographic memory>
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