阅读理解
You may have heard that humans
only use ten percent of their brain, and that if you could unlock the rest of
your brainpower, you could do so much more. You could become a super genius, or
acquire psychic powers like mind reading.
This "ten-percent
myth" has inspired many references in the cultural imagination. In the
2014 movie Lucy, for example, a woman
develops godlike powers thanks to drugs that release the previously
inaccessible 90 percent of her brain.
Contrary to the ten-percent
myth, however, scientists have shown that humans use their entire brain
throughout each day.
Over the years, brain
scientists have shown that different parts of the brain are responsible for
specific functions, whether it's recognizing colors or problem solving.
Contrary to the ten-percent myth, scientists have proven that every part of the
brain is integral for our daily functioning.
Research has yet to find a
brain area that is completely inactive. Even studies that measure activity at
the level of single neurons(神经元) have not revealed any inactive areas of the brain.
Many brain imaging studies that
measure brain activity when a person is doing a specific task show how
different parts of the brain work together. For example, while you are reading
this text on your smartphone, some parts of your brain, including those
responsible for vision and reading comprehension, will be more active.
A more direct counter to the
ten-percent myth lies in individuals who have suffered brain damage – like
through a stroke(中风)– and what
they can no longer do, or do as well, as a result of that damage. If the ten
percent myth is true, then damage too many parts of our brain shouldn't affect
your daily functioning. Studies have shown that damaging a very small part of
the brain may have devastating consequences.
If someone experiences damage
to Broca's area(布罗卡氏区), for example, they can understand language but
can't speak fluently.
In one highly publicized case,
a woman in Florida permanently lost her" capacity for thoughts,
perceptions, memories, and emotions that are the very essence of being
human" when a lack of oxygen destroyed half of her brain.
