View Full Version : Brain Power
I've often read that our brains only use a small part of it's available capacity. I sometimes wonder if it uses that much but if that's the case how could we learn to use more and then would it be a good thing or a bad thing for the human race?
ye can definately learn til progress yer mind in 'e sense that ye can develop psychic powers an expand yer intuition.
'iss is a fact, iv read many books on 'e topic an find 'e whole subject fascinatin.
possibly in thousands (probly thousands o' thousands) o' years time 'e human race will hev evolved til beings wi mental capacities far beyond our imagination :eek:
after all, its a dowg eit dowg world wur livin in, an people are necessarily hevin til resort til using instinct an intuition more an more....
lek when it comes til trustin 'e government :lol:
see before, society wid believe anythin they were telt. they didna question authority...they were easily led as a people, an very easily fooled!
nowadays, people are thinkin for themsels, questionin authority, samplin different religions....etc
even though our brains are 'e same shape an size since 'e human race began i wid definately say that we develop more parts o'ed as we evolve.
we da hev til hunt rabbits an catch fish wi our bare han's (tho i ken a few that still can) cause we da need til...choost lek if ye handed someone a laptop wi broadband sometime BC they widna hev a clue....
webmannie
07-Jan-09, 21:17
ye can definately learn til progress yer mind in 'e sense that ye can develop psychic powers an expand yer intuition.
'iss is a fact, iv read many books on 'e topic an find 'e whole subject fascinatin.
possibly in thousands (probly thousands o' thousands) o' years time 'e human race will hev evolved til beings wi mental capacities far beyond our imagination :eek:
after all, its a dowg eit dowg world wur livin in, an people are necessarily hevin til resort til using instinct an intuition more an more....
lek when it comes til trustin 'e government :lol:
see before, society wid believe anythin they were telt. they didna question authority...they were easily led as a people, an very easily fooled!
nowadays, people are thinkin for themsels, questionin authority, samplin different religions....etc
even though our brains are 'e same shape an size since 'e human race began i wid definately say that we develop more parts o'ed as we evolve.
we da hev til hunt rabbits an catch fish wi our bare han's (tho i ken a few that still can) cause we da need til...choost lek if ye handed someone a laptop wi broadband sometime BC they widna hev a clue....
My brain hurts after reading this!
I've often read that our brains only use a small part of it's available capacity. I sometimes wonder if it uses that much but if that's the case how could we learn to use more and then would it be a good thing or a bad thing for the human race?
In theory it should be possible to develop different parts of the brain to deal with different functions - and I think it's also a case of use it or lose it. - So exercising the memory should develop a better memory, mental arithmetic - mental agility, and so on.
Would it be a good thing or bad thing for the human race?
As someone who is increasingly horrified at the basic lack of common sense and even basic general knowledge shown by a good proportion of the population in this country making better use of the brain has to be a good thing.
(Now which part of the brain do I have to exercise to eliminate typing errors.)
"we da hev til hunt rabbits an catch fish wi our bare han's (tho i ken a few that still can) cause we da need til..." - Trix
I think maybe its time we learned again Trix....we've become far too sophisticated and need to get back to using our brains more for working out for ourselves why we are here. We have been brainwashed for too long into thinking that the world we have today is the one we want.....and that this is the only way to live.....ughh!
Gleeber, I sincerely hope we learn to develop our brains and at least explore what we are capable of.....we have a lot to learn yet....we need to open our minds.....
I remember watching a documentary about folk who had tiny brains. Their heads were almost empty vessels. A lot of them were disabled but many were able to function very well considering they almost had no brains, It shows how little you actually need to live a functional life.
It would be amazing if we were able to use the full power that our brains are capable of.
It may be dangerous at the same time. Some folk are probably a lot safer being stupid!!
ye can definately learn til progress yer mind in 'e sense that ye can develop psychic powers an expand yer intuition.
'iss is a fact, iv read many books on 'e topic an find 'e whole subject fascinatin.
possibly in thousands (probly thousands o' thousands) o' years time 'e human race will hev evolved til beings wi mental capacities far beyond our imagination :eek:
I'm no sure what you mean by 'developing psychic powers' but I would agree our brains are still evolving. My own opinion is that all the so-called psychic stuff including religious stuff is part of the problem we dont use our brains to its full capacity. These fantasies tend to hold us back. They create a false impression of what our world is really like. It seems almost impossible to consider the contents of our brains without considering some kind of supernatural reality on the outside of our skulls. That's what fascinates me. Our ability to believe almost anything the most obscure holyman could throw at us.
Modern science is developing a chart of the brains capacities. It doesnt say there is no supernatural content but it would probably say there is no real evidence apart from the contents of an indivuals head.
Theres no doubt the brain has a much larger capacity than what it uses. Imagine 60 years ago. Communications was in its infancy. People could use a telephone but for most people the once a month visit to the public phonebox was the norm. Nowadays we can turn our computers on and communicate with anywhere in the world within seconds. Our brains have absorbed that capacity without blinking an eyelid. what next? Beam me up Scotty?
Maybe once we realise there is no outside influences our brains can concentrate on us and help us overcome centuries of fantasies and years of confusion? It's going to take a while though.
interestin view point gleeber...one that il think aboot.
lookin back on what i wrote i perhaps should o' written 'psychic abilities' rether than powers.
Aaldtimer
08-Jan-09, 03:50
Gleeber..."Theres no doubt the brain has a much larger capacity than what it uses. Imagine 60 years ago. Communications was in its infancy. People could use a telephone but for most people the once a month visit to the public phonebox was the norm. Nowadays we can turn our computers on and communicate with anywhere in the world within seconds. Our brains have absorbed that capacity without blinking an eyelid. what next? Beam me up Scotty?
Maybe once we realise there is no outside influences our brains can concentrate on us and help us overcome centuries of fantasies and years of confusion? It's going to take a while though."...
I'll have to disagree with you here, this is a result of the exponential rise of technology rather than any increase of brain capacity.
Since the invention of the transistor, technology has shot up in an exponential curve which has led to the integrated circuit (the chip), and subsequently to everyone (well nearly) having a computer, laptop or PC, or at least access to same.
OK, it was human brain power that led to this, but it's been a long time coming since the advances in electricity, electro-magnetism discoveries etc., or the wheel for that matter.
We evolve! ;)
Nothing to do wi' God, Faeries or any other species of the otherworld!
I'm no sure what you disagree with Aaldtimer because i agree with you.
Aaldtimer
08-Jan-09, 15:19
I'm no sure what you disagree with Aaldtimer because i agree with you.
..."Our brains have absorbed that capacity without blinking an eyelid."...
That's the bit I disagree with.
Our brains always had the capacity in the first place.
Back then we had to walk to the nearest 'phone box...now we just reach into our pockets! ;)
This thread is bringing to mind something mentioned by a fellow Orger on anther one ages ago. If we are evolving then we grow things we require or ditch ones we don't. So, this being the case then why do we have such a huge brain capacity that we do not use?
This thread is bringing to mind something mentioned by a fellow Orger on anther one ages ago. If we are evolving then we grow things we require or ditch ones we don't. So, this being the case then why do we have such a huge brain capacity that we do not use?
I agree. Most of the brain appears to be there to stop you rattling when you jog. It doesn't even have nerves. Watch. You can quite easily stick your finger right up your noathe un give id a quig tiggle wit nut mutch happen,,,,,,______________==. . . .urg
Good subject Gleeber.
The brain is capable of a lot more than we as a race use it. I like watching the odd documentary on TV and was interested with a programme that talked about savants, and some of the savants “talents” are amazing. It is reckoned that everyone when they are born have this enormous catalogue of talents that can be learned, but our brain is set up for (as someone else in this thread said) “use it or lose it” and most of these parts of the brains are switched off within a matter of months or weeks.
There is a sacrifice to most savants’ abilities and that comes in the form of autism or a lack of interpersonal skills which we take for granted. There was one programme that I watched on Channel 4 which was interesting.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vs6R5YZQ3c
Maybe one day human race can unlock the massive computing power of the brain for everyone......what a totally different world that would be.
I've seen similar programmes ac and the mind boggles. Your right though. Everyones brain has the same capabilities. (presumably). I suppose the brain could be compared to a computer. It only knows what it is fed although it does contain the genetic memory of millions of years evolution.
Perhaps one way of probing into the furthest corners of our brains and changing our world would be to make brain power a standard subject on all school syllabuses?
Your right though. Everyones brain has the same capabilities. (presumably). I suppose the brain could be compared to a computer.
I fully agree Gleeber, to make a point using Computer "speak" G I G O, = Garbage in ~ Garbage out :~(
I wonder if we used all the brain power that we could would we be able to cope with all that extra information or go into some sort of overload?
Whilst appreciating the brain has many functions some of which are not fully understood surely there must be a reason why it has to have spare capacity.
(In my case it's where all those things I should know and did know have hibernated!)
forevera123
09-Jan-09, 21:55
so does mine! so i just skip it.:lol::lol:
My brain hurts after reading this!
I wonder if we used all the brain power that we could would we be able to cope with all that extra information or go into some sort of overload?
Whilst appreciating the brain has many functions some of which are not fully understood surely there must be a reason why it has to have spare capacity.
(In my case it's where all those things I should know and did know have hibernated!)
Its not so much the brain that gets overloaded as the mind. The brain is just an organ that allows the mind to wander. :eek:
Its not so much the brain that gets overloaded as the mind. The brain is just an organ that allows the mind to wander. :eek:
I like mind wandering it's just that sometimes mine forgets to come back :confused
The Pepsi Challenge
10-Jan-09, 16:35
“The human brain contains, I am told, 10 thousand million cells and each of these may have a thousand connections. Such enormous numbers used to daunt us and cause us to dismiss the possibility of making a machine with human-like ability but now we have grown used to moving forward at such a pace we can be less sure. Soon, in only 10 or 20 years perhaps, we will be able to assemble a machine as complex as the human brain and if we can we will. It may then take us a long time to render it intelligent by loading in the proper software or by altering the architecture but that, too, will happen.
“I think it certain that in decades, not centuries, machines of silicon will arise first to rival and then surpass their human progenitors. Once they surpass us they will be capable of their own design. In a real sense they will be reproductive. Silicon will have ended carbon's long monopoly - and ours, too, I suppose, for we will no longer be able to deem ourselves the finest intelligence in the known universe. In principle it could he stopped; there will be those who try but it will happen nonetheless. The lid of Pandora's box is starting to open.”
- Sir Clive Sinclair, from a speech to the US Congress, 1984
percy toboggan
10-Jan-09, 17:30
I'm no sure what you mean by 'developing psychic powers' but I would agree our brains are still evolving. My own opinion is that all the so-called psychic stuff including religious stuff is part of the problem we dont use our brains to its full capacity. These fantasies tend to hold us back. They create a false impression of what our world is really like. It seems almost impossible to consider the contents of our brains without considering some kind of supernatural reality on the outside of our skulls. That's what fascinates me. Our ability to believe almost anything the most obscure holyman could throw at us.
Modern science is developing a chart of the brains capacities. It doesnt say there is no supernatural content but it would probably say there is no real evidence apart from the contents of an indivuals head.
Theres no doubt the brain has a much larger capacity than what it uses. Imagine 60 years ago. Communications was in its infancy. People could use a telephone but for most people the once a month visit to the public phonebox was the norm. Nowadays we can turn our computers on and communicate with anywhere in the world within seconds. Our brains have absorbed that capacity without blinking an eyelid. what next? Beam me up Scotty?
Maybe once we realise there is no outside influences our brains can concentrate on us and help us overcome centuries of fantasies and years of confusion? It's going to take a while though.
Gleeber, the people who have provided us with the great strides forward ARE using their brains to a greater degree than the masses who merely fall for their innovations. The motive behind the innovation is finance led - most are in it for the money rather than any altruistic devotion to mankinds development or any innate drive to further their own self-worth.
As a thinking man you are well on the way to leaving the addled masses behind and progressing your own self-consciousness to an advanced state.
I have long thought inner space more infinite than outer - ever since I heard George Harrison sing about it. I didn't really understand the concept and still don't but whenever I read posts like yours then I know there is hope for us all....well some of us. Most have no intention, interest, or capability to develop their own brains...for they are thick. Blessed are the thick as it leave a clear run for the rest of us...even also rans like myself...and to a lesser extent thee*....for you're half way to the answer - the second half is tougher I'd guess.
*to avoid any confusion this means you are less of an 'also ran' than I am.
percy toboggan
10-Jan-09, 17:31
“The human brain contains, I am told, 10 thousand million cells and each of these may have a thousand connections.
Keep eating mackerel, and other oily fishes to ensure the lubricant stays long into later life.
“The human brain contains, I am told, 10 thousand million cells and each of these may have a thousand connections. Such enormous numbers used to daunt us and cause us to dismiss the possibility of making a machine with human-like ability but now we have grown used to moving forward at such a pace we can be less sure. Soon, in only 10 or 20 years perhaps, we will be able to assemble a machine as complex as the human brain and if we can we will. It may then take us a long time to render it intelligent by loading in the proper software or by altering the architecture but that, too, will happen.
“I think it certain that in decades, not centuries, machines of silicon will arise first to rival and then surpass their human progenitors. Once they surpass us they will be capable of their own design. In a real sense they will be reproductive. Silicon will have ended carbon's long monopoly - and ours, too, I suppose, for we will no longer be able to deem ourselves the finest intelligence in the known universe. In principle it could he stopped; there will be those who try but it will happen nonetheless. The lid of Pandora's box is starting to open.”
- Sir Clive Sinclair, from a speech to the US Congress, 1984
The C5 rendered this man's utterings to the pile labelled "Pish"
My thoughts exactly scorrie!
Furthermore I watched a programme about robots recently and it is amazing how thick they are! The amount of stuff that would have to be programmed into them for them to be anywhere near humans was amazing!
My thoughts exactly scorrie!
Furthermore I watched a programme about robots recently and it is amazing how thick they are! The amount of stuff that would have to be programmed into them for them to be anywhere near humans was amazing!They are only as thick as the human that programs them and Computers will never supercede the human brain in any way, shape or form.
They are only as thick as the human that programs them and Computers will never supercede the human brain in any way, shape or form.
Perhaps I should not have used the word thick on a thread entitled "Brain Power" but it just showed how incredible the human brain is - a thing I think we all take for granted!
Perhaps I should not have used the word thick on a thread entitled "Brain Power" but it just showed how incredible the human brain is - a thing I think we all take for granted!The brain is indeed an incredible thing and when you think on it, computers performing millions of calculations per second is nothing compared to the capabilities of the human brain.
The brain is indeed an incredible thing and when you think on it, computers performing millions of calculations per second is nothing compared to the capabilities of the human brain.
Very true - they are incredibly fast yes but are only following a programme! The brain is making many myriad connections all the time at an incredible speed.
The Pepsi Challenge
11-Jan-09, 07:19
The C5 rendered this man's utterings to the pile labelled "Pish"
I disagree.
Sinclair was ahead of his time: no-one could have seriously imagined anyone driving his elaborate-looking slipper on a motorway, but his electric-powered, eco-friendly transport cycle hinted at the way things will eventually come for all of us in terms of personal eco-friendly transport in the 21st century: Sinclair's C5 could travel around 1,000 miles for the equivalent cost of a gallon of petrol. Already in Japan there are eco-friendly cars and transports on the road. Sinclair had the right idea(ls) in wanting to bring an electric vehicle to the mainstream - he was just 25 years to early.
Like every genuis Clive Sinclair never used the full potential of his brain power either. In his speech to the US congress he mistakes brain power for consciousness. Most organic animals have brains. Brains give us the abilities to work out tasks in our world whether we are human or a goldfish. Somewhere inside our skulls something happens and all the brain activity gets transformed into something called Consciousness. Consciousness has nothing to do with inteligence. The brain is the core of inteligence. Given that, I would be prepared to sacrifice my 136 year old granny in a fight to the death with any of Clive Sinclairs inventions or science fiction robots. Mind you it would be wrong to suggest that the human race will never create an artificial consciousness but I wouldnt even bother speculating on it.
Then, even within the state of consciousness there are various states of mind. These states of mind, feeling up or feeling down, are more likely to do with our upbringing than with consciousness or brain power.
Brain power's not something the average person spends any time thinking about but the more we think about it the more puzzling it becomes. :eek:
Welcomefamily
11-Jan-09, 12:40
I remember back in the mid seventies when I first started studing the brain, I joined a research group that was going to use a computer to try and replicated the power of the brain. :lol: How little we knew back then, how many of them made professors.
Firstly the brain is all made up of cells except for some very small spaces, about 100 billion cells. It produces unbelievable amounts of energy both of a negative and positive charge. Each cell is capable of having contections to other cells (synapses), and we have about 100 trillion synapses or connections. However it is the mid brain which is staggering, the neurological pathways and the areas where ideas and actions are created.
Good extreme reading areas are the works of Gary Lynch who identified the physical process of the formation of a memory, he was at California Uni.
As Wifie said our brain does not meet the idea that we could have evolved, other wise we would not have spare space to such an extent that we have, the rainman (cant remember his name) uses more of his brain than normal humans but even he has large area not in use.
There would be many people who would consider that we have human abilities that we have not developed, perhaps a sixth sense or something, some would suggest that it would allow us to speak to and see god.
Going back to my first statement, even with modern computers, I dont think we have got any closer to understanding the functions of the full brain, I think we understand a little more about it but we are still scraping the surface.
Interesting that some believe this possible sixth sense could let us communicate with God - perhaps it might be someone or something else also very very far away.
Why would I want to increase what's in my brain? I've got 43 years of crap in it-I need to delete some of it before uploading more rubbish. The only use I've found for most of the info I retain is the Sunday night quiz on the Org. [lol]
tommytool
11-Jan-09, 20:50
I've often read that our brains only use a small part of it's available capacity. I sometimes wonder if it uses that much but if that's the case how could we learn to use more and then would it be a good thing or a bad thing for the human race?
E=mc2 is a simple rule to remember and no too hard till lern how till understand. do you think e man who worked this out was only using a small part of his available brain capacity.
by publishing, printing, sharing, through invention i.e. the www (dose this not increase availability and capacity) and other tools
i do believe as a race we are doing really well and will continue to do well for available brain capacity. as long as we all stick together new technology will surly see us through
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