我們只使用了大腦的百分之十嗎?
Have you ever heard that we humans use only ten percent of our brains? This oft-quoted myth holds a certain appeal because if it were true, then we could instantly become ten times more intelligent just by firing up that sleepy majority of the brain!
你是否曾經(jīng)聽說過我們?nèi)祟愔皇褂昧舜竽X的百分之十？這個被經(jīng)常引用的神話般的說法頗具吸引力，因為如果這種說法屬實，那么我們只要激活沉睡的大部分大腦就可以比現(xiàn)在聰明十倍！
Animals Experiments
動物實驗
The idea that we use only a small fraction of the brain dates back to animal experiments in the 19th century. When scientists stimulated a specific part of the brain, the animal moved its leg or tail. If a tiny part of the brain could do something so grand, what was the use of the rest of the brain? Some scientists assumed (rather unscientifically) that large parts of the brain were simply useless.
人類只使用了大腦很小一部分的觀點可以追溯到19世紀(jì)的動物實驗。當(dāng)科學(xué)家刺激動物大腦的某個特殊部分時，動物的腿部或尾巴就會動彈。如果大腦這微小的一部分就可以引起這么大的動作，那么大腦其它部分有什么作用呢？一些科學(xué)家則假設(shè)（其實相當(dāng)不科學(xué)）大腦的大部分沒有任何作用。
Then, in the early 20th century, scientists observed that stimulating certain regions of the brain had no physical effects. They dubbed these seemingly useless parts of the brain the “silent cortex.” Today we know that in humans, much of the “silent cortex” is actually devoted to complex activities like language, learning, and imagining.
到了20世紀(jì)早期，科學(xué)家觀察到，刺激動物大腦某個區(qū)域其身體沒有任何反應(yīng)。于是他們把這部分看起來無用的大腦稱作“沉默的皮質(zhì)”。如今我們都知道，在人類大腦中，許多“沉默的皮質(zhì)”實際上在一些復(fù)雜活動諸如語言、學(xué)習(xí)和想象等方面發(fā)揮著重要的作用。
Brain Scans
腦部掃描
Brain scans have shown that different parts of the brain crackle into heightened activity as we shift our attention and focus, but even as we sleep, many areas of the brain are extremely active. Would you be smarter if your entire brain constantly worked to maximum capacity? Interestingly enough, the opposite is probably true. The less brain activity you need to perform a given task, the more the brain as a whole is capable of doing.
腦部掃描表明，當(dāng)我們轉(zhuǎn)移注意力或聚精會神時，大腦不同部位頓時提高活動強度，即使我們睡覺時，大腦的許多區(qū)域也極其活躍。如果整個大腦充分持續(xù)運轉(zhuǎn)，人是否就會更聰明？有趣的是，結(jié)果恰恰相反。執(zhí)行一項既定任務(wù)時腦部活動越少，大腦作為一個整體能做的事情就越多。
