FALSE

The claim that humans only use ten percent of their brains is a scientifically debunked myth 1 5 10. High credibility sources from institutions such as Harvard, MIT, and Nature confirm that humans actually use virtually every part of the brain throughout a typical day 3 5 6. While it is true that not all neurons fire at the same time, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) shows that nearly all brain regions are active even during simple tasks 3 4. Experts note that the myth may have originated in the early 20th century and has been reinforced by pop culture and movies such as Lucy 2 8. In reality, the brain is a metabolically expensive organ, and evolution would not permit 90 percent of its capacity to remain untapped or wasted 5 7 12.