Limitless - Jim Kwik Page 0,36

here—but Barry Beyerstein, a professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, described some of the major scientific discoveries that refute this myth, which I’ve paraphrased here:13

Studies of damaged brains show that there is no single area of the brain that can sustain damage without a loss of ability, contrary to earlier theories. Brain scans have shown that all brain areas are active, no matter what the activity. Even while we sleep, all parts of our brains show activity.

Our brains are energy-hogs. The brain takes up only 2 percent of space by weight, and yet accounts for 20 percent of energy consumption, more than any other organ. We wouldn’t need such an incredible amount of energy for an organ that functioned at 40 percent or less.

Scientists have also determined that the brain’s regions have distinct functions that work together. After extensively mapping the brain over decades, they’ve concluded that there are no functionless areas of the brain.

Finally, as we’ve learned, the brain uses a process called synaptic pruning. If we didn’t use a large portion of our brains, we would expect to see large areas of degeneration (we don’t—unless brain diseases are present).14

To sum up, this myth just isn’t true. In an interview with Scientific American, neurologist Barry Gordon from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, said that the idea is “so wrong it is almost laughable.”15

Here’s the truth: What I want you to take from this is that you have all the power of your brain available to you now. The utopia that each of these movies and TV shows depicts is already possible for you. While we use all of our brain, some people use their brain better than others. Just as most people use 100 percent of their body, there are some bodies that are faster, stronger, more flexible, and more energized than others. The key is to learn how to use your brain as efficiently and effectively as you possibly can—and by the end of this book, you’ll have the tools to do so.

New belief: I am learning to use my whole brain in the best way possible.

LIE NO. 3: MISTAKES ARE FAILURES

When we hear the name Einstein, we think of brilliance and intellectual feats the likes of which most of us believe we’ll never accomplish. The nearly synonymous relationship is well deserved; Einstein did more to further the scientific field in general and physics in particular than any other scientist of our time. His discoveries have made possible some of our most important modern-day technology.

With such an illustrious reputation, it would be easy to assume Einstein rarely made mistakes—but that is not the case. To begin with, his development was described as “slow,” and he was considered to be a below-average student.16 It was apparent from an early age that his way of thinking and learning was different from the rest of the students in his class. He liked working out the more complicated problems in math, for example, but wasn’t very good at the “easy” problems.17

Later on in his career, Einstein made simple mathematical mistakes that appeared in some of his most important work. His numerous mistakes include seven major gaffes on each version of his theory of relativity, mistakes in clock synchronization related to his experiments, and many mistakes in the math and physics calculations used to determine the viscosity of liquids.18

Was Einstein considered a failure because of his mistakes? Hardly. Most importantly he didn’t let his mistakes stop him. He kept experimenting and making contributions to his field. He is famously quoted as having said, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” What’s more, no one remembers him for his mistakes—we only remember him for his contributions.

So, why do we fear mistakes so much? It could be ingrained—as school children, we were judged on our mistakes, and the number of them on any given test determined whether we passed or failed. If we were called on in class and said the wrong answer, most of us were usually too embarrassed to raise our hands again. Unfortunately, mistakes are not often used as a tool for learning; they are used as a way of measuring one’s capabilities. Make too many mistakes and you fail your test or your class.

We need to change that. Too many of us don’t come close to our capacities because we are too afraid of making a mistake. Instead of looking at mistakes as proof of failure, take them as proof that