I once chased down that “10% of your brain” business to see where it came from. Turns out it was kind of a study. A very old one. Back when they were first figuring out what the brain was even for and had just figured out that nerves used electricity. They tested how much of the brain was “used” by jabbing it with a electric probe and seeing if it made the “patient” twitch. (obviously this was done on “incurably insane” patients that nobody would miss.)
Of course, we now know that the brain runs a lot more stuff than just major muscle groups. But the 10% number persists in popular memory.
I once chased down that “10% of your brain” business to see where it came from. Turns out it was kind of a study. A very old one. Back when they were first figuring out what the brain was even for and had just figured out that nerves used electricity. They tested how much of the brain was “used” by jabbing it with a electric probe and seeing if it made the “patient” twitch. (obviously this was done on “incurably insane” patients that nobody would miss.)
Of course, we now know that the brain runs a lot more stuff than just major muscle groups. But the 10% number persists in popular memory.