We use about 40% of our brain

We lose synaptic connections as we go from children to adults. As adults we become more self conscious. This is why a baby will hop on the couch with no sense of danger.

So Synaptic connections degrade overtime. It's called synaptic pruning. So children are more aware than adult. Adults are more self aware. Here's some info:

The typical adult human brain has about 100 billion neurons and 100-400 trillion synapses. A typical baby is born with a full set of neurons, and well over the number of synapses in an adult brain; a baby can be born with as many as 1,000 trillion synapses. During the first few months, the excess synapses are rapidly discarded through the process of synaptic pruning. Those synapses deemed "unnecessary" are disconnected, until the happy average of 100-400 trillion synapses is reached, around the age of 14 (this may seem counter-intuitive, as we are daily forming new synapses and learning new things. However, as a mature adult only has 100-400 trillion synapses, the baby has 600-900 trillion extra synapses to burn).

appsychtextbk.wikispaces.com...

So children are receiving more information from their environment than adults. They just prune some of these connections as they go from childhood to adulthood.

I think this is what connects children and things like reincarnation and psychics. Some who are psychic and have psi experiences may not have fully degraded synaptic connections as they go from childhood to adulthood.

So a psychic or medium may have 600-700 trillion synaptic connections which would be more than the average adult.

Or they pruned synaptic connections that would make them more self aware and they kept the connections that connected them to this "other" information.

This could also explain some Savants. They have a lack of synaptic pruning which overloads their brains with information. I was recently reading an article about Savants that said this:

However recent research using brain imaging, has pointed to a lack of synaptic pruning taking place in the brains of many savants.

www.infobarrel.com...

A lot of the synaptic pruning is dictated by the environment. Society says these connections are not accepted so kids prune them by not using them.

Was pretty interesting till it mentioned reincarnation n psychics.... Two big old myths

Myth has been debunked many a time.

Namaste

I think it really depends. These studies are making their results based on statistics for your average mind. Some people continue to enter novel situations at a higher rate than the norm.

Overall, if you do mostly the same things day in and day out for a few decades or so, your brain will prune a ton and streamline networks used a lot for efficiency. So you would see experts using less energy to solve problems that pertain to their field...

I think the people who are most adaptable as they age are the ones who take on new careers, and enter new environments every couple years or so. How many of those kinds of people were in this study?

Dunno. Sometimes I see results like this and think of it like more of an assumption than actual scientific fact.

Originally posted by neoholographic

This could also explain some Savants. They have a lack of synaptic pruning which overloads their brains with information. I was recently reading an article about Savants that said this:

We use alcohol for that

I've heard that we only use x% of our brains, but I really can't believe it.

What else do you have that you really don't use/need?
Biology is very efficient. That's why it's so successful.

The appendix can be removed, but on an evolutionary level it is slowly disappearing.

The human appendix is a vestigial structure. A vestigial structure is a structure that has lost all or most of its original function through the process of evolution.

Source

Yeah, okay. Here's some problems to point out:

1. We use 100% of our brains. If we only used 40% then damage occurring to the other 60% shouldn't have any affect, which we know is wrong. It may or may not be true that we only use '40% of our brain to a time but every part of the brain has a function which at one time or another is used by those with healthy brains - adult or child.

2. You say that this could explain things like reincarnation and psychics. Assuming the above information was correct there would still be a problem. You are essentially saying that the brain of an entirely new being could be retaining so much data from a past life that it's possible to remember that life(if only we could use more of the brain or didn't have such degradation of neural synapses). That really doesn't make that much sense. Let's take for instance if my Grandfather dies, alright? When he is buried it begins a process of destruction in his body. It doesn't really take that long for the entirety of the body(minus bones) to be gone. So, assuming your theory about reincarnation being associated with the brain is correct, that would mean that the brain transfers data through some sort of wifi to another being. The only thing similar to what you're saying is the theory that memories of our family members may be passed down at times - science has come across this with analysis of neanderthals who may/may not have been able to remember things from their ancestors lives. This, however, is not the same as what you are suggesting.

Assuming your theory is actually that there is a soul which is transferred from one being to the other as Snoop Dogg(Snoop Lion, my apologies) seems to think happened with him and Bob Marley. In this scenario you are saying that memories are transferred from the soul onto the brain of the newer human being as seems to be the consensus among the reincarnation community anyway. Your insertion that differs, however, is trying to explain why some of us remember and others don't - your explanation being that those with more neural synapses(similar to children) are people that find out about past lives and/or become psychic. The problem here is that having more neural synapses means you are smarter - just a fact. It's no question that children are vastly smarter than adults because they need to be in order to take care of themselves. Human children are asked to learn completely new skills that they will use for the rest of their life within the first 1-2 years, it's a protective mechanism we've developed through evolution due to a lack of physical ability to protect ourselves from other creatures/nature. Anyway - the point is, are you saying that psychics and people who believe in reincarnation are smarter than other people? There are innumerable psychics who claim otherwise. Associating great intellect with a psychic would go to discredit their abilities more than prove them. If they're so smart, how do we know they aren't faking?

As you can see, there are some holes in your theory.

reply to post by MadmanInABox


1. You do know that synaptic connections are reduced as we go from childhood to adult? You do know this occurs in the brain? So we lose about 60% of our synaptic connections in the brain as we go from childhood to adult.

2. This is why I said people with more synaptic connections may have access to "other" information. This information would not be bound by space-time. It could be field theories of consciousness or the higher dimensional self that's not bound by space-time. So, in the case of reincarnation the child would have access to past memories. For instance, how does the material brain recall specific memories at will? How does the material brain know the difference between a memory from high school or a memory from little league baseball? How does the material brain retrace thoughts? I was about to type a search into Google and the phone rang. When I came back to the computer, I had to retrace my thoughts to figure out what I was about to search for. How is this possible for the material brain? How does the material brain know what thought I'm looking for? So the extra synaptic connections could give children and psychics access to this information that most adults prune out as they go from children to adulthood.

3. I never said anything about a soul or Snoop Dogg so this point is irrelevant. Also, I never said anything about psychics being smarter than anyone else. These points you're making have no point because you're debating against yourself. I never said anything about Snoop Dogg or psychics being smarter than everyone else.

Originally posted by dayve
Was pretty interesting till it mentioned reincarnation n psychics.... Two big old myths

Why do people shut down the brain when they hear anything that goes against their pre-existing belief system? In predictive analytics we call this confirmation bias. As soon as you heard the words reincarnation and psychics, the brain shut down and pre-existing belief kicked in.

1. You do know that synaptic connections are reduced as we go from childhood to adult?

"your explanation being that those with more neural synapses(similar to children) are people that find out about past lives and/or become psychic. The problem here is that having more neural synapses means you are smarter - just a fact. It's no question that children are vastly smarter than adults because they need to be in order to take care of themselves. Human children are asked to learn completely new skills that they will use for the rest of their life within the first 1-2 years, it's a protective mechanism we've developed through evolution due to a lack of physical ability to protect ourselves from other creatures/nature."

You do know this occurs in the brain? So we lose about 60% of our synaptic connections in the brain as we go from childhood to adult.

Losing 60% synaptic connections is not the same as losing 60% of the brain. If you are talking just about the synaptic connections then why title your topic 'we use about 40% of our brain'. Look it up, we use 100% of our brain just not all at once. Synaptic connections differ from children to adults but it is because there are different needs from the brain between children and adults.

2. This is why I said people with more synaptic connections may have access to "other" information. This information would not be bound by space-time. It could be field theories of consciousness or the higher dimensional self that's not bound by space-time. So, in the case of reincarnation the child would have access to past memories. For instance, how does the material brain recall specific memories at will? How does the material brain know the difference between a memory from high school or a memory from little league baseball? How does the material brain retrace thoughts? I was about to type a search into Google and the phone rang. When I came back to the computer, I had to retrace my thoughts to figure out what I was about to search for. How is this possible for the material brain? How does the material brain know what thought I'm looking for? So the extra synaptic connections could give children and psychics access to this information that most adults prune out as they go from children to adulthood.

Neural pathways are electrical signals in the brain, they allow you to retrace thoughts, make associations and categorize. One does not need a metaphysical brain or mind to explain this. The problem here is you're talking about synaptic connections, which are very real and observable and can be tampered with(making them material or part of space-time) and then you are talking about metaphysical or spiritual forces placing memories(which are material also since damage to the brain can disrupt memory recognition) into the physical brain. The material brain knows what thought you're looking for because of associations - as you try to think of what you were talking about you begin to think about associations with the same period of time. By doing this thoroughly you can find the missing link. I'm having flashbacks right now of Bill O'Reily 'you can't explain that'. Your theory is based on things you don't know, not things that aren't known.

3. I never said anything about a soul or Snoop Dogg so this point is irrelevant.

Not everything is about you, my friend. I was typing out a thought process, not an argument. It is not irrelevant, it is not relevant. It is just a statement, a pondering.

Also, I never said anything about psychics being smarter than anyone else. These points you're making have no point because you're debating against yourself. I never said anything about Snoop Dogg or psychics being smarter than everyone else.

Unfortunately either you didn't take the time to think about my points before you put them down or you're using an all too common method of rebuttal - which is pretending not to see my real point and only focusing on what you can make seem foolish. My comment about Snoop was purely for my own entertainment and others viewing it, to lighten the mood. No you did not say that psychics were smarter but I am showing you that such a conclusion can be found in the statements you did make, it's a 'if a equals c and c equals b then a equals b argument'. You're still avoiding the dilemma of how non-physical physical things like memories get passed on to physical physical things like newborns. You're free to make statements and I'm free to criticize them. Maybe you're onto something but you definitely aren't there yet. This doesn't have to be an argument, I'm pointing out what doesn't work so you don't waste your time on null theories and can get your mind into something worth your dedication.

reply to post by neoholographic


Because some people do not simply accept alleged phenomenon like psychics or whatever without objective evidence. This is perfectly reasonable. You speak of confirmation bias yet you are the one believing in phenomenon without objective evidence. To shut off all rational explanations in favour of fantastic, unsubstantiated explanations is closed minded and a form of both expectation bias and motivated reasoning.

Some people use less than 1% of their brain….. Politicians are a good example of this.

Mickierocksman

Originally posted by Mickierocksman
Some people use less than 1% of their brain….. Politicians are a good example of this.

Mickierocksman

Ah, so that's why they are the 1%

We use all of our brain. Just different parts for different things..

Originally posted by MadmanInABox

1. You do know that synaptic connections are reduced as we go from childhood to adult?

"your explanation being that those with more neural synapses(similar to children) are people that find out about past lives and/or become psychic. The problem here is that having more neural synapses means you are smarter - just a fact. It's no question that children are vastly smarter than adults because they need to be in order to take care of themselves. Human children are asked to learn completely new skills that they will use for the rest of their life within the first 1-2 years, it's a protective mechanism we've developed through evolution due to a lack of physical ability to protect ourselves from other creatures/nature."

I'm going to have to call BS on pretty much this whole post. I guess it depends how one qualifies the term, "smart", but at the very least I know ours differs by quite a bit.

1. Children are hardly as smart as adults.

2. Having more neural synapses is but one part of the equation in being "smart".


If you are thinking IQ wise, it depends on specific brain regions working efficiently, effectively across regions, and usually relies on the same dense, yet small neural networks being used. Even then, it differs from male to female. The females have more white matter, and males more grey, but they end up scoring about the same on an IQ test.

When we grow up we don't jump on the couch anymore not because we sense danger, because if we do it we might have to buy a new couch, that hurts the pocketbook. We get smarter as we age and unless a degeneration of the brain occurs, Most people mature at around sixty eight or so when all the pieces of the puzzle start coming together. A wrong diet for your genetics brings alzheimers into play. overindulgence in a certain class of food brings on other brain chemistry changes. Failure to realize there are changes to the body which require dietary changes at a point causes many problems. Hormone replacement when you get older without a real medical problem causes a failure to mature.

The People in charge don't want old people with wisdom to be listened to. The young want to be considered smart, smarter than the old. Old people have been looked at with respect by most cultures throughout history because of their wisdom and experience, that is not evident today. Oh well, that is the way it is today and there isn't much we can do about it. that is one of the reasons many old people blow all their money on retirement condos and vacations now adays instead of giving it to their kids or nieces and nephews. This lack of respect by the young is why people never get ahead..........TPTB love it.......especially when the kids argue over the remaining money and the lawyers get most of it.

Yep, the young to middle age people often only use 20 percent of their brains.

reply to post by MadmanInABox


You said:

The problem here is that having more neural synapses means you are smarter - just a fact. It's no question that children are vastly smarter than adults because they need to be in order to take care of themselves.

So children take care of themselves? If I left my 3 year old nephew here alone, he would hurt himself. Kids jump up and down, stand on tables and more. Children cannot take care of themselves and it has nothing to do with smarts.

What I said is children are more aware and adults are more self aware. This is because children are taking in more information because they have more synaptic connections. This changes as they go from childhood to adulthood.

You said:

Losing 60% synaptic connections is not the same as losing 60% of the brain. If you are talking just about the synaptic connections then why title your topic 'we use about 40% of our brain'. Look it up, we use 100% of our brain just not all at once. Synaptic connections differ from children to adults but it is because there are different needs from the brain between children and adults.

Synaptic connections are functions of the brain. You can't separate these connections from the brain. It's like saying the airbag in my car isn't part of my car. It's a a function of my car. If we can't use all of the synaptic connections in the brain then we're not using all of our brain.

You then said this:

Neural pathways are electrical signals in the brain, they allow you to retrace thoughts, make associations and categorize. One does not need a metaphysical brain or mind to explain this. The problem here is you're talking about synaptic connections, which are very real and observable and can be tampered with(making them material or part of space-time) and then you are talking about metaphysical or spiritual forces placing memories(which are material also since damage to the brain can disrupt memory recognition) into the physical brain. The material brain knows what thought you're looking for because of associations - as you try to think of what you were talking about you begin to think about associations with the same period of time. By doing this thoroughly you can find the missing link. I'm having flashbacks right now of Bill O'Reily 'you can't explain that'. Your theory is based on things you don't know, not things that aren't known.

Who said anything about spiritual forces? I talked about field theories of Consciousness. I said nothing about spiritual forces.

How does the material brain know which memory I'm trying to recall? How is it possible for the material brain to recall specific memories at will? How does the brain know the difference between a memory at a cookout vs a memory from grade school? How does the material brain know what associations are? How does the material brain recall these associations? How does the material brain know the difference between these associations? When I went to search Google, I thought about being on my facebook page before I came to Google and something on my wall moved me to do a search. How does my brain know the difference between Facebook and Google? These things are impossible for the material brain but not field theories of consciousness. I just recalled 3 memories back to back to back, how is this possible for the material brain? What stimulates the brain to recall these memories? How does the brain know the difference between these memories?

Which part of the brain recalls memories and how does it know which memories I wish to recall? How does it know the difference between a memory at a football game and a memory about being in the Army?

Here's a good book to read:

Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century
Link

So we don't use are brain to the fullest because we don't use all of our synaptic connections. I suspect that mediums and psychics have access to synaptic connections that most people don't use and that can be found in Children.

Synaptic pruning is planned and normal, biologically speaking.

Originally posted by neoholographic
reply to post by MadmanInABox

 

So we don't use are brain to the fullest because we don't use all of our synaptic connections. I suspect that mediums and psychics have access to synaptic connections that most people don't use and that can be found in Children.

edit on 1-8-2012 by neoholographic because: (no reason given)

*our

Okay, what you said makes no damned sense. We use all of our synaptic connections. If we didn't they would be programmed for cell death eventually. The connections we make serve a purpose. Gifted minds tend to have funky networks that bridge brain regions usually not so heavily interconnected. That's all there is to it.

reply to post by unityemissions


No, we don't use all of our synaptic connections. This chart captures this beautifully.




Synaptic connections peak at around 1,000 trillion and then level off starting around 10-14 to about 4-500 trillion. This is synaptic pruning.

So theres about 500-600 synaptic connections that most people don't use.

reply to post by neoholographic


Those synapses die along with the brain cells

In neuroscience, synaptic pruning, neuronal pruning or axon pruning refer to neurological regulatory processes, which facilitate a change in neural structure by reducing the overall number of neurons and synapses, leaving more efficient synaptic configurations. Pruning is a process that is a general feature of mammalian neurological development. Pruning starts near the time of birth and is completed by the time of sexual maturation in humans.[1] At birth, the human brain consists of approximately 10 billion neurons.The infant brain will increase in size by a factor of up to 5 by adulthood. Two factors contribute to this growth: the growth of synaptic connections between neurons, and the myelination of nerve fibers. Generally, the number of neurons in the cerebral cortex increases until adolescence reflecting a growth of synapses.[2] A decrease in synapses is seen after adolescence reflecting synaptic pruning, and approximately 50% of neurons during development do not survive until adulthood.[3] Pruning is influenced by environmental factors and is widely thought to represent learning.

Linky