There are
so many incorrect assumptions that crop up here on Quora that I created a topic
called Neuromyths and
Neuroconfusions!
Here is a
list of the most common misconceptions I come across on Quora and in popular
culture generally:
I. We use
only 10% of our brains
This is
wildly false. We use 100% of our brains, since the neurons that are not firing
are also “in use”. Having all cells fire at the same time would be like
pressing the accelerator and the brake of a car at the same time! (As a
neuroscientist on Quora, I find it quite depressing to see that this question
seems to get asked multiple times every day!)
II. The
left brain is “rational” or “logical” while the right brain is “emotional” or
“creative”.
This
particular misconception arose from neuroscientists, but we have been arguing
that it is false for several decades. Sadly the media is relentless in
spreading this incorrect factoid. (The most irritating aspect of it for me is
the lazy assumption that creativity does not require logic, and vice versa.)
III.
Dopamine is the happiness molecule
This is a
more subtle issue, since even many neuroscientists say things like this.
Dopamine is definitely involved in rewarding events. But that is not the whole story.
Dopamine is also released after painful events, and as a result of certain
types of stress. So it is deeply misleading to say that dopamine is devoted to
one simple task. We are still trying to figure out what dopamine is doing.
These days I think it makes more sense to think of dopamine as a “lubricant”
for behaviour and learning. This lubrication is not necessarily pleasurable or
good. In the case of drug- or stress-induced dopamine release, it can be quite
bad. More broadly, dopamine hype is a symptom of a wider problem: the idea that
the brain/mind is a “chemical soup”, rather than a complex and dynamic network.
IV.
Emotions are opposed to rationality
This is
another subtle one. There is no doubt that excessive emotionality can interfere
with calm rational thinking, but the other extreme — no emotion — is equally
bad. People with damage to their emotional systems cannot make normal decisions,
despite seeming quite rational and sane. In the right proportion, emotions are
a good thing.
V.
Neuroscience can tell us how to be “smarter”
This is
potentially controversial. We don’t really know what exactly intelligence or
smartness is, especially from the perspective of brain science. We also know
that “brain training” games are not particularly effective, other than making
you better at the games themselves. General-purpose intelligence is not
something you can target — it is too vague a goal. If you want to be good at
something, you have to pick something specific and practice that. So far,
neuroscience has not discovered any shortcuts, despite what you may have read
on the internet. Sometimes the word “neuroplasticity” is bandied about like a
magic spell. But the word “plasticity” just means “changeability”, and it is
“always on” in the brain. You do not need to “turn on” neuroplasticity. Normal
standards of health — exercise, sleep, diet etc. — are sufficient to maintain
neuroplasticity. You brain will absorb whatever it is that you are doing. So
focus on how you spend your time, since that is the main determinant of how and
what you learn.
VI.
Scientists can predict when major breakthroughs will take place
I often see
questions asking for some kind of timetable for future discovery. Will
mind-uploading happen by 2048? How on earth are we supposed to know? It strikes
me that the people who make predictions of this sort are trying to sell
something or inflate the value of some stock (including their own, as a
prognosticator). Science is about studying the unknown, and therefore we have
no idea when the unknown will cease to be unknown. We don’t know how much
we don’t know. There are unknown
unknowns. And typically, when we do make major discoveries, we find that
even more mysteries arise. So a five-year plan for
future discovery is an absurd thing to expect.
Reference: Yohan John
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