The Potential of the Human Brain

[Tommy]

Sorry if this thread seems a little general as it touches on posts from previous threads, but here it goes....

    It is generally accepted that we use only a fraction of our total brain potential. The exact figure varies depending on the method used to calculate it, but I beleive it to be about 10%. Can you imagine the abilities Humans would have if we could harness the full potential of our brains??

...telepathy.....telekenesis.....psychokenesis.....

[Magikman]

Tommy,

  Actually that is a myth. There was an article in a recent FORTEAN TIMES that addressed this issue. Here's a brief synopsis;

  "Brain imaging research techniques such as PET scans (positron emission tomography) and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) clearly show that the vast majority of the brain does not lie fallow. Indeed, although certain minor functions may use only a small part of the brain at one time, any sufficiently complex set of activities or thought patterns will indeed use many parts of the brain. Just as people don't use all of their muscle groups at one time, they also don't use all of their brain at once. For any given activity, such as eating, watching television, or making love, you may use a few specific parts of your brain. Over the course of a whole day, however, just about all of the brain is used at one time or another."

MAGIKMAN

* - Needed this post to stay ahead of Gareth. Lord knows, I don't want to lose my status as the 'discussion board nazi'. By the way, how are you doing Gareth? Was starting to wonder if you might have been abducted by those pesky Annunaki.  

Opps - Us Nazi's don't have very good manners either. > I meant to welcome you to the forum Tommy.  

[Saru]

Magikman,

I'm doing very well thanks - been pretty busy as of late but I've had time to visit the forum every day and do some much needed moderating ;D

It's amazing why some people need to feel it necessary to discuss their bowel problems in the forum, perhaps the person in question will give up after having their post deleted - again.

Anyway, with a lot more time on my hands now, I will be posting a lot more regularly again.

( If the Annunaki let me out of my cell that is )

[Tommy]

Thanks for the reply Magikman...I stand corrected :

    If we do indeed use most if not all of our brain, then how can we begin to explain the 'special abilities' or 6th sense that certain individuals have. Perhaps they are able to 'exercise' parts of their brain that we do not commonly use, like tap into their subconscious, which we know little about. A difference in emphasis rather than substance...who knows.

Anyway, i'm off to Scotland for two weeks. I'll catch up then.  8)

ps- link backing your myth theory (or fact)-http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html

[Magikman]

Tommy,

   Have fun in Scotland. You should try to look up Gareth around Loch Ness and see if you can free him from the evil clutches of the Annunaki.

  The fact addresses the myth of brain usage only. It doesn't delve into what is actually known about the brain, and rightfully so. There is still much to learn, even with modern day mapping techniques. There have been great inroads into diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, but it barely scratches the surface.

  Is it possible that the brain is responsible for the origin of a 'sixth' sense? Consider the unexplainable occurrences of the 'idiot savant' syndrome displayed by those deemed extremely mentally retarded. There is still much uncertainty regarding causation for this ability.(autistic children are in the majority)  It defies all medical reasoning. Mathematical, musical, and artistic genius is displayed even though there is no discernible activity in the area of the brain that supposedly is responsible for this capability. (It's interesting to note that 'child prodigies' lose their talents as they age while idiot savants maintain their ability. Males hold a 6:1 ratio over females in this disorder.) Does the brain somehow compensate for mental incapacity, and if so why not universally? Some others suffer incredible head trauma and recover with minor side effects, baffling the doctors who examine them. It would not be surprising to find that there are some higher functions of the brain still to be discovered. The degree of probability concerning 'extrasensory' perceptions of the mind is a daunting one.  :-/

MAGIKMAN

[SpaceyKC]

     I don't know if this fits in with this thread, or how I found this site, but I think it is interesting.  

    www.probablefuture.com

     I would like to see what everyone else thinks of it!

       NORA

[Magikman]

Nora,

   Everybody already knows where I stand regarding 'remote viewing' (thanks Lori) ;D, but I thought you might find this somewhat interesting;

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stargate/message/5416

MAGIKMAN

[Dowdy]

Magikman is right. it's only a myth, that's why if a part of your brain gets damaged you can end up having a disability 'cause of brain damage. But here's a fact that i bet most of you didn't know - 80% of the brain is water!

[SpaceyKC]

      Can you imagine the dilemma if, after an injury your brain was still functional, but the only thing that remained(of intelligence) was the part where you remembered all the commercial jingles of your entire tv watching life?!

(your friends could rent you out for parties)

 

NORA

[Tommy]

Scotland- An aesthetically beautiful place, however the heat wave in the south of Britain did not reach as north as the Isle of Skye. :'( Oh well... a memorable experience all the same.

On the paranormal side of things, however, not much to report. I could mention the amazing disappearing island opposite the cottage we stayed at (could have been due to the gradual deterioration of the weather resulting in about a 0 visibility)...   or the neck of Nessie perking out of her home Loch seen a clear 250m away from the A8 which runs along side the famous Loch. (or was that the mast of a small dark boat)who knows??? Talking of Loch Ness, the place was thriving with foreign tourists eager for a glimpse of you know who.

  WOW gone for 2 weeks and 9 newbies join

[Guest Guest]

why does it matter how much of our brain we use???? i mean, what exactly would it accomplish to know - especially when scientist are in such broad disagreement.

[Dowdy]

We know now know that we use all of our brain but how about people who don't have brains!?!?

Andrew Vandal was born in Virginia, USA, in 1984 without a brain! He had a rare condition known as Hydrancephaly, which left his skull full of nothing except fluid. Doctors who attended the birth were convinced he would die, but he didn't. Andrew survived to be adopted by a nurse from Connecticut who describes him as a "glowing, outgoing, bubbly personality". Mrs Vandal has two other children with the same condition. One of them, a girl, was still going strong at the age of twelve without a brain.

In 1982, ITV broadcast a programme which included the case history of a boy named Stephen who managed five 'O' levels without a brain. (If you held a light behind his head, it glowed an empty pink) Later, however, Stephen managed to regrow the missing organ, a medical mystery just as deep as how he got along for so long without it.

[Tommy]

Must I be the first to ask how?? ??? ??? :-/

[Jamie]

Im with you Tommy.  How could a person live without a brain???  It sounds impossible.

[Homer]

I'm not so sure, since I have been accused of being brainless many times ;D

[SpaceyKC]

     

I've heard 'brain-dead' bantered around me quite frequently..I don't know why?

Kudos to Jamie for the floating name in your last post that MY eyes could pick up!!

NORA

[Magikman]

Nora,

 Wow, thanks. I thought my monitor was haunted!

I was just getting ready to crack open a bottle of 'Old Crow'.  

MAGIKMAN

[Magikman]

Tommy,

 You ask a very good question. The answer is simple. The story as stated by Dowdy is based on false, misleading or misinterpreted information. Information again provided by some TV program interested only in sensationalism. I am referring specifically to the case he mentions about someone named 'Stephen' regrowing his brain. Try a search of the internet, you would think you would find literally thousands of 'hits' documenting this incredible 'miracle'. I didn't find a thing. I am somewhat interested in this 'light' myself and its incredible capability to display an 'empty pink space' when placed at the back of someone’s head. Didn't this unfortunate soul have a skull? Have you ever witnessed a 'light' show through a layer of bone, much less the 'back' and 'front' of a persons head? Sounds pretty absurd to me.  :-/

 Here is a link to the web site maintained by the Hydrocephalus Association. It will give you all the information you would like to know about the medical condition;

http://www.hydroassoc.org/

 They provide a link to another site that has loads more information;

http://patientcenters.com/hydrocephalus

 You will notice that there are many different 'forms' and severity’s of the condition. Its remotely possible that the program Dowdy mentions either failed to correctly identify which form of hydrocephalus this 'Stephen' suffered from, or deliberately left out specific details to exaggerate 'the truth'. There is also the possibility of misdiagnosis by a doctor unfamiliar with the different 'conditions', this would not be surprising. Either way, the 'fact' of the brain 'regrowing' is ludicrous and absurd. It can't happen. Its interesting to note that this web site makes no mention of this 'miracle' person either. It appears to be just another 'myth' perpetrated on a gullible public in an attempt to appease the ratings gods.

MAGIKMAN

[Tommy]

Thanks for the links Magikman, an interesting read. It's horrible to think that you can acquire hydrocephalus later in life, and the odds of 1 out of 1,000 babies born with it sound unfortuately high aswell.

[Dowdy]

Juat because you can't find something on the internet doesn't maen it's not true. i got this information out of a book and for me, a book is alot more reliable than the internet for looking for facts. The book probably exaggerated about the light but i believe that he regrew the organ. there have been several cases in which a child has lost their finger and it has regrown back.

[Magikman]

Dowdy,

   ???

 "In 1982, ITV broadcast a programme which included the case history of a boy named Stephen who managed five 'O' levels without a brain. (If you held a light behind his head, it glowed an empty pink) Later, however, Stephen managed to regrow the missing organ, a medical mystery just as deep as how he got along for so long without it."

 Hmmmm...... Now you got your information from a book? Someone certainly seems confused. Which is it? What's the title of this book? Its still my contention that for something so unbelievably 'miraculous', you would still find mention of it somewhere on the Internet. Probably put there by someone who read the same book you did. In fact, I doubt if you could give me an example of anything this extraordinary that's happened in the last 20 years that isn't noted in some way on the Internet. People sure find the time to list loads of garbage on it. Why not this?

 So a book is far more reliable when looking for facts, hey? The Bible is a book and is jammed full of 'facts'. Why don't you believe in the Bible? Or is it your determination that makes the facts reliable? We read about amazing 'discoveries' every day from all different sources, even books. Countless times those discoveries are reprinted word for word in other publications. Why is this 'book' you read the only source? Maybe because there is no book, or the claim is so universally ridiculed, no one dare expose their stupidity by reprinting it, which is hard to believe when you consider the crazy stuff you can find on the Internet. They probably came to their decision by actually doing a little 'research' to find supporting data or credible sources. It wouldn't have taken them very long to find there isn't any. The story is a lot of bull, as is the idea the human body is capable of 're-growing' a brain, no matter how helpful that would be to some people.

MAGIKMAN

[Dowdy]

the WHOLE post that was about the people with no brains came from the book. the book told about the show. i copied it out. the book is called 'seriously weird true stories' by Herbie Brennan. regrowing a brain is just as impossible as having no brain at all but i just proved that you can have no brain. nothing is impossible and if it seems physically impossible there's USUALLY is a way, like this case.

now do you want me to scan in the front cover of the book and the story to prove that there is such a book and i got the info from there?

Here are a few 'impossible' stories (also from the book) just to prove the impossible can happen:

1. In 1939, a black couple, Mr and Mrs Herbrett Strong from North Carolina, USA, gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The girl was black like her parents, but the boy was white.

2. Horror writer Stephen King once published a book called FIRESTARTER about a child who could set things alight by concentrating on the. Before the age of ten, an Italian schoolboy, Benedetto Supino, discovered he could do it for real. In 1982, he was reading a comic in a dentist's waiting room when it burst into flames. From that point on, just about everything he touched was scorched - and even thing he only looked at catched fire. The talent had its drawbacks. One morning he woke to find his bedcloths on fire and was himself quite badly burned. Doctors who examined him at the Tivoli Social Medical Centre pronounced him "perfectly normal".

See, the 'impossible' can happen.

[Magikman]

Dowdy,

   No, you needn’t bother, I’ll do it for you;

http://homepage.tinet.ie/~herbie/teen.html

 You’ve provided all the information I require. For some strange reason I still remain unconvinced, but then, that’s just me. :

MAGIKMAN

[reese92]

Now I have seen a young black boy that actually had a hole in his head.  He was on a talk show, about 2 years ago.  Maury Povich, I believe.  He was born with an open hole in his head, that failed to grow.  His brain was there, however.  His head was covered in skin though.

 There have also been rare cases of people being born without a nose, they had breathing holes, but the bridge of their noses, did not exist.

 There are strange births all the time, but generally they would be listed somewhere for someone to research.

If I am correct, and I am not a doctor.  I would think that to live even for a week without a brain, would be an impossibilty.  I say this, because if I remember correctly, it is the brain that actually tells your other organs to work correctly.  It tells the blood to move through your veins.  It tells your heart to pump, your lungs to absorb oxygen.  It even tells you when to hurt.  Don't quote me on it though, as I never was a big Biology buff.

         Reese  

[Mr-X]

Reese92,

you are right, the system of the body you are refering to is the C.N.S (Central Nervous System). It pretty much controls everything in our body from movement to our senses.

           

                                X