Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!quintus!ok
From: ok@quintus.uucp (Richard A. O'Keefe)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Human use of available intelligence.
Message-ID: <868@quintus.UUCP>
Date: 15 Dec 88 21:49:08 GMT
References: <Dec.6.15.57.28.1988.9988@klaatu.rutgers.edu> <2768@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> <Dec.8.18.59.38.1988.10409@klaatu.rutgers.edu> <659@htsa.uucp> <516@oracle.UUCP>
Sender: news@quintus.UUCP
Reply-To: ok@quintus.UUCP (Richard A. O'Keefe)
Organization: Quintus Computer Systems, Inc.
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In article <516@oracle.UUCP> pfry@oracle.UUCP (Philip M. Fry) writes:
>This reminds me of the often-stated but never-documented comment that people
>only use 15% of their available brain power.  How is this number derived?
>Any good references?

I've seen recent articles that claim this is bogus.
It is apparently possible, by using some form of NMR, to measure energy
consumption in the brain non-invasively, so you can get a 3D picture of
which parts of the brain were most active while someone was working on
a problem.  There was a short note in the Science & the Citizen section
of Scientific American about this within the last four years.