The wrong assumption

Contrary to popular belief:

1. We use more than 10% of our brains. If we only used 10%, brain damage would be perhaps impossible to recover from.
2. Brain damage isn’t permanent. The brain can heal itself and even form new connections.
3. People are not right or left brain dominant. We use both sides of our brains to solve different types of problems.
4. We don’t have the biggest brains. Sperm whales have an 18 pound brain, humans, by contrast, have a 3 pound brain.
5. Alcohol doesn’t kill your brain cells.
6. Your brain has 85 million neurons. Not 100 million.

These are myths and urban legends that are quickly debunked with a simple Google search. There are lots of rules of thumb and heuristics we use that are false. Like pumping your breaks when you have ABS.

Let’s be clear, no one is immune to falling into the trap of fake news or misinformation. We hear something, take it to be fact and only sometimes go back and verify.

We can’t pretend that getting to the truth is impossible either. We have all the tools at our disposal to become truth seekers. We just need to learn to be skeptical of the incoming. Slow down and put in the effort to do a bit of research.

Each of us has a narrative in how we see the world. There is more than enough information to keep it in tact. The question is, are you willing to be incompetent for a while so you can learn to see the world through a new lens?