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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!ihnp4!oddjob!sandip
From: sandip@oddjob.UUCP (Sandip Chakra)
Newsgroups: net.sci
Subject: Re: darwinism
Message-ID: <784@oddjob.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Jun-85 21:04:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: oddjob.784
Posted: Thu Jun 13 21:04:25 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Jun-85 05:48:19 EDT
References: <783@oddjob.UUCP> <542@petsd.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: U. Chicago, Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lines: 53







> >                 ......why human evolved about six times
> >as that of an orung-otung and yet human uses only about 5 percent of the
> >brain cells? 
> 
> 	Is there any current data or informed opinion to
> support the statement that we use only X% of our brains?  In
> recent books, for the general reader, on brain function, I
> have never seen it asserted or supported.
> 	I conjecture that it is a new kind of folklore:
	
	This conjecture shows that Chris is really out of touch with
the modern techniques. I ain't a medical student and can not cite
ready references but I recently watched a PBS broadcasting on brains (a
series in fact), which showed with the example of four people that
even though their brains are virtually entirely damaged and only an extremely
thin layer of brain cells touching the skull is functioning they are
perfectly normal person. In fact, 
the subjects did not know that their brains are
damaged at all. These people are adults and are doing their jobs in a rather
respectable fashion. Their intelligence also were found to be above normal
(if I recall correctly). The method used to check such "hollowness" of their
brain was Tomography (called CAT scanning, I suppose). The test was clearly
convincing, and I do not doubt that my assertions based upon what I have
observed are correct.

 
> beginning to discover the detailed functions of different
> parts of the brain, they were able to assign roles to only X%
> of it, and said so, and the popular mind got the message
> wrong.  Can this conjecture be supported?  Are there other
> folk theorems that you have noticed?
> 
> 
	I suppose this clarifies my issue. Doubly regards.
                                                      Sandip

P.S: By the way, Einstein was supposed to have used only 15% of his brain.
Since I did not read this first hand, I did not cite this example. In fact,
I would have called this a folklore myself until I read about it but I am
perfectly willing to believe it now based upon what I watched. 

> Full-Name:  Christopher J. Henrich
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