FACT CHECK #K8ELZVDV

WHAT WE FOUND

The claim is false. Snopes rates it False 1. The MIT McGovern Institute calls the idea 100 percent a myth and says scientists believe we use our entire brain every day 2. Britannica notes that data show large areas of the brain, far more than 10 percent, are active across all kinds of tasks 10. Medical News Today also says research shows this is a myth 8, and NBC News quotes neuroscientist Eric Chudler saying that if we used only 10 percent we would be close to dead 12. The origin of the idea is unclear, with some attributing it to a misreading of William James 6, and surveys show it is widely believed, including by 43-59% of teachers 7 and almost two-thirds of Americans 11. Wikipedia describes it as a myth misattributed to famous scientists 5. One excerpt, from Harvard Health 3, states the idea as a belief (it's thought) and does not endorse it. Different brain regions are more active at different times, but that does not support the 10 percent figure. High-credibility sources agree that the claim contradicts established neuroscience 12.

SOURCES

1. 1 · snopes.comFACT-CHECKER
   Do We Only Use 10% of our Brains?

   TIER A

2. 2 · mcgovern.mit.eduACADEMIC
   Do we only use 10 percent of our brain?

   TIER A

3. 3 · health.harvard.eduACADEMIC
   You don't say? Brain space

   TIER A

4. 4 · bbc.comNEWS
   Do we only use 10% of our brains?

   TIER A

5. 5 · en.wikipedia.orgWEB
   Ten-percent-of-the-brain myth

   TIER B

6. 6 · psychologicalscience.orgWEB
   Myth: We Only Use 10% of Our Brains

   TIER B

7. 7 · educationalneuroscience.org.ukWEB
   We only use 10% of our brains

   TIER B

8. 8 · medicalnewstoday.comWEB
   What percentage of our brain do we use?

   TIER B

9. 9 · uamshealth.comWEB
   Do People Only Use 10 Percent of our Brains?

   TIER B

10. 10 · britannica.comWEB
    Do We Really Use Only 10 Percent of Our Brain?

    TIER B

11. 11 · abc.net.auWEB
    Fact or fiction: We only use 10 per cent of our brain

    TIER B

12. 12 · nbcnews.comWEB
    Myth, busted: You only use 10 percent of brain

    TIER B

THE READING