# 10% vs 3%

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-vs-3/3654>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 4, 1999, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-vs-3/3654 "1999-10-04T00:45:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![omniscientnot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a5b964/32.png) [@omniscientnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omniscientnot)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 1999, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-vs-3/3654/1 "1999-10-04T00:45:00Z")

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At one point in tonight’s episode of the Simpsons, Bart says something to the effect that the drug he’s taking (Focusyn) will allow him to use 10% of his brain, like most people do.

I’ve heard or read a while back that Einstein used 10% of his brain capacity, whereas we mere mortals used only 3%. Given the Simpsons’ writing team usual attention to facts and details, it got me wondering… What’s the Straight Dope?

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**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 1999, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-vs-3/3654/2 "1999-10-04T01:17:00Z")

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[http://www.urbanlegends.com/science/10\_percent\_of\_brain.html](http://www.urbanlegends.com/science/10_percent_of_brain.html)

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**Author:** ![Chief\_Crunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Chief\_Crunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Crunch)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 1999, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-vs-3/3654/3 "1999-10-04T01:18:00Z")

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I’ve read the whole “humans only use 10% of their brain power” thing is a misconception. It came from the fact that only about 10% of the mass of a human brain is neurons, while the other 90% is fat and water, ergo you only use 10% of your brain’s mass or something akin to that. I don’t think there’s any way one could calculate the potential of the human brain anyway.

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**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 1999, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-vs-3/3654/4 "1999-10-04T06:28:00Z")

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[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_028.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_028.html)

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 1999, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-vs-3/3654/5 "1999-10-04T13:11:00Z")

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I loved that,Focusyn.How relevant.