Wow! Do we really only use 10% of our brain?

Is the ten-percent-brain thing actually true? Almost every grown-up has heard this myth - and almost everyone believes it. Today Robin and Lou clear up one of the biggest science fairy-tales of our time.

In the brain scanner you can see it plainly: we use our brain all the time - while talking, walking, dreaming, breathing, remembering, even while doing nothing. The myth comes from old popular-science books and was boosted by Hollywood movies like „Lucy“. But researchers with modern MRI machines show it clearly: over the course of a day every brain region is active, each with its own special job.

This episode is a perfect example of how science communication can dissolve a myth. Kids learn that just because a claim is repeated often doesn't make it true. And they discover how their own brain pulls off amazing feats every single day.

What you'll hear in this episode:

Why the 10% myth is so stubborn

How the brain scanner (MRI) shows what's happening in your head

What the different brain regions do - language, movement, memory

Why your brain uses 20 percent of your whole body's energy

What Hollywood movies like „Lucy“ have to do with spreading the myth

Why sleep, exercise and reading strengthen your brain

How kids' brains grow and build new connections

What researchers know today about learning and memory

Who is this episode for?

For curious kids aged 6 and up who want to know how their own head works. For parents who want to talk with their child about myths, the brain and the media. Classroom-friendly too - fits science lessons from grade 3.

Chapters:

If you like this episode, listen to:

Episode 003: Ask: Can animals lie?

Episode 006: Ask: Why do we have to sleep?

Episode 009: Ask: Can plants remember?

Sources (linked):

MIT McGovern Institute for Brain Research: Do we use only 10 percent of our brain?

Scientific American: Do People Only Use 10 Percent of Their Brains?

Northwestern Medicine: 10 Surprising Facts About Your Brain

PNAS (Raichle & Gusnard, 2002): Appraising the brain's energy budget

Who's behind Really True!?

Really True! is the three-times-a-week science podcast for kids aged 6 and up - Monday the „Wow!“ format with big science myths, Wednesday „What's going on?“ with current research news, Friday „Ask!“ with real listener questions. Every episode is checked before production by our three-stage editorial board: developmental-psychology educator, non-fiction factual standard, and child protection. All sources are linked. So that everything you hear is really true.

Write to us!

Got a question you'd like us to answer in our Friday „Ask!“ format? Write to post@hearooz.de - maybe your question will be the topic of one of our next episodes.

A production of KB&B - Family Marketing Experts for the podcast label HEAROOZ. More kids' podcasts at hearooz.de.

This episode was produced with the help of artificial intelligence.