Our discussion in class on technology's impact on the environment prompted me to recall a theory I once thought of. It could be possible (I'll admit, it isn't likely, but it's just a theory!) that the reason we're on this earth is to fully utilize our brains. This means that our species must, over time, keep growing and expanding our minds to the point where we use 100% of its capacity. The only reason I see this as possible is because in the past, as time goes on, humanity has grown increasingly smarter. The abilities of our brains, since our species has evolved, has been continuously growing. We currently use about 10% of our brains total capacity in our lifetimes. That leaves 90% left until we reach full capacity. If we keep improving our knowledge at the rate we've been going, this will take millions of years.
If at 10% capacity, we're using the types of technology around today, what will we be doing at 15%? 50%!? The type of world we have created with the technology we have now has caused a whole lot of harm, as well as a whole lot of positive advancement in how easy our lives are. My only fear is, as life continues to get easier for us with this higher level of brain usage, what will become of us when we are only at, say 30%? Will we live with wires hooked up to our brains and stare at floating monitors instead of schooling, instead of working??
Technology is really fascinating and helpful, but it's also, at least to me, extremely powerful and potentially dangerous.
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What a bizarre theory! I’m not sure about its validity because it seems to ignore the fact that the human brain has increased in size over the past due to evolution. Given that it seems to imply constant human brain size (otherwise we wouldn’t be able to truly figure out if the percentages were getting larger or not), I personally think that the theory may be a bust. Regardless, it does bring up some interesting points and speculation.
ReplyDeleteWhile it would be interesting to know what would happen if we used 90% of our brain, it is important to consider that neuroscientists still are unsure of what a lot of the brain does. It is entirely possible that, after many millennia of evolution, 10% brain utilization is the optimal amount specified by our biology for what ever reason. Is it possible that 10% is really the most information our brain can handle at one time? I feel that since the brain is constantly restructuring our memories and creating new ones, the extra space may be necessary to prevent loss of important information. This is purely speculation on my part, I really don’t know. If the brain is like this though and we use the theory, I think that brain usage should plateau at some optimal percentage. Big brains and small brains would have the same optimal percentage, but the larger brain would have a larger information capacity. Whether we are currently at this point or not is up for debate.
I like the idea you’ve raised as I think it is as valid point and could hold answers to many questions which are being asked. People think that humans have stopped evolving, however if what you say is true then that theory is clearly wrong. I have no idea what will possible if we could use more of our brains, but I think it would open new doors and possibilities, I think we could perhaps comprehend ideas which we cannot comprehend now i.e. time travel, the infinite, etc.
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