Friday, December 21, 2007

Worth Noting

Stumbled across this gem of an article about 7 Medical Myths Even Doctors Believe from LiveScience. The British Medical Journal found out that when it comes to urban myths, doctors aren't immune. For example:

"Myth: We use only 10 percent of our brains.

Fact: Physicians and comedians alike, including Jerry Seinfeld, love to cite this one. It's sometimes erroneously credited to Albert Einstein. But MRI scans, PET scans and other imaging studies show no dormant areas of the brain, and even viewing individual neurons or cells reveals no inactive areas, the new paper points out. Metabolic studies of how brain cells process chemicals show no nonfunctioning areas. The myth probably originated with self-improvement hucksters in the early 1900s who wanted to convince people that they had yet not reached their full potential, Carroll figures. It also doesn't jibe with the fact that our other organs run at full tilt."

For the other six myths and the rest of article, click here.



No comments: