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While possessing the ultimate knowledge might be impossible due to many physical limits (unless you have a genie lamp stashed away somewhere), this doesn’t stop human curiosity from discovering, learning, and sharing as much as we can about the things that surround us.
One proof of this is the How Things Work Instagram account, which contains various tidbits of information about anything and everything. Aiming to educate and empower its 1.9 million followers daily, it provides explanations and facts about our world that we don’t usually go out of our way to find. Scroll down to discover them, and don’t forget to upvote and share your favorites with fellow curious people!
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A lot of people know the century-old myth that we only use 10% of our brain capacity. It toys with the idea that if we one day unlock our full brain potential, we may possess supernatural traits like infinite memory or even telekinesis.
Indeed, it’s tempting to believe that there must be so much more that people can do, learn, and discover. This might be why even a whole myth was born to keep such hope alive.
This misconception received attention at the beginning of the 1900s, when scientists began exploring the abilities of the brain but lacked the proper tools to capture its workings.
In 1907, the founder of American psychology, William James, proposed that “we are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources.” His suggestion set the 10% misconception ablaze, resulting in many other myths.
One of them is related to Albert Einstein, who allegedly credited his genius to being able to use more than 10% of his brain. However, no such thing was ever documented, which proves that it was just a made-up story.
In fact, scientists today believe quite the opposite, saying that we use our entire brains daily. “All of our brain is constantly in use and consumes a tremendous amount of energy,” explains Mila Halgren, an associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences. “Despite making up only two percent of our body weight, it devours 20 percent of our calories. Even while we sleep, our entire brain remains intensely active.”
So now that we know that we use 100% of our brainpower, can we possess infinite memory or ultimate knowledge like the myth creators have hoped? Or are there still unbreakable boundaries? “This is still in contention,” Halgren says. “There may be certain problems that the human brain is fundamentally unable to solve, like how a mouse will never understand chemistry and a chimpanzee can’t do calculus.”
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For geeky fun, let’s entertain this idea and say that we unlocked the full power of our brain and one day woke up with infinite knowledge. What would happen? A team from Bright Side has come up with a possible plot.
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Donald Holder 4 months ago
Could you imagine not only living to 140, but being fertile (pregnant)!? Incredible.
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“There are three possible outcomes in that scenario,” the narrator of the video says. “One is that you’ll regret it instantly. You won’t be able to deal with all the knowledge because you’ll probably learn something you didn’t want to know. You’d be aware of everyone’s thoughts, feelings, what’s happening around the world at any given time, and what’s about to happen. So, it could be damaging to your own sense of self.”
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Another possibility is that we’d probably feel superior to everyone else, which would lead us to become supervillains or try to ‘save’ the world. Either scenario would probably overwhelm us.
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#24
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 4 months ago
This is more a mammal thing than a cat thing. My dogs do this, my horse does this, my hamster does this, and, to an extent I do it.
The last outcome they came up with was the loss of humanity. "Infinite knowledge is something no human has ever experienced. You’d see what happens beyond the universe. You’d know about other intelligent life and alien civilizations. You’d even be aware of whether or not we have souls. Then, you wouldn’t be able to experience the emotions that make us human; such as surprise, hope, wonder, and fear. You’d become an emotionless robot.”
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Mimi La Souris 4 months ago
for me, brutalism everywhere is the death of the cities, the loss of attachment to one’s environment which also causes a decrease in mood
I don’t know about you, but to me, every outcome sounds like the end of an apocalyptic movie. Having entertained this idea of ultimate knowledge, I now understand the importance of not knowing everything. I don’t know, all the knowledge in the world, including predicting the future seems like a LOT of work. I’d rather read the occasional book and watch cat videos on YouTube,” agrees the narrator of the Bright Side video.
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Auntriarch 4 months ago
This is something I'd love to do but I know I'd be too terrified (and I can't scuba anyway)
martymcmatrix 4 months ago
Maybe you should take an emotional support German with you...😙 🤿 🤷🏽
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CanadianDimes 4 months ago
You can also do this if you go to Hans Island between Greenland and Ellesmere Island and stand with one foot on either side of the Canadian-Danish border!
Teachzebra 4 months ago
I had the good fortune to snorkel this a couple years ago. It’s the clearest water I’ve ever seen. And you do not have to know how to scuba to do it. The water is about 36°F so you have to put on a dry suit, a process that takes about 90 minutes to do. It’s an incredible experience if you ever get the chance. Incidentally this diver is only about 10 or 15 feet deep. I make less than $100k per year so it’s surprisingly affordable!
Liz Siemens 4 months ago
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! This freaks me out I dunno why haha I guess I thought they would have to be wayyyyyy down there... but it's light. So clearly not!
Shelly Graham 4 months ago
Okay, I'll do it just this one time! (Starts hearing Jaws theme music 🦈)
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Annik Perrot 4 months ago (edited)
And I guess human lives as well. Car vs boar, both are doomed. And car vs moose....
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Frunkadunk 4 months ago
The patient on the table outlived the doctor who did the procedure. Their team did a great job.
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LB 4 months ago (edited)
This is a UV microscope if I'm not mistaken. Source: used to study biology way back when and we were one of the first to have these for students because our professor was rad. I used to sneak them out for "regular" assignments also. But years have passed so please correct me if I'm wrong!
#42
LB 4 months ago
Yes, sunflowers are fake flowers, like how strawberries aren't berries. Wiki explains in more detail: what appear to be "petals" of an individual flower, are actually each individual complete ray flowers, and at the center is a dense pack of individual tiny disc flowers. Because the collection has the overall appearance of a single flower, the collection of flowers in the head of this sunflower is called a pseudanthium or a composite.
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Not-a-Clue (she/her) 4 months ago
I've got one like this in our toilet as there's not enough space for a separate sink. You can easily lean across. (UK)
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Donald Holder 4 months ago
This is sooo freaking scary the first or second time you approached it. But damn it's also so fricn awesome
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What do you think ?
Tyranamar Seuss 4 months ago
Almost every single one of these is a repeat. Some I have seen on here multiple times. I'm disappointed. Surely there is new material out there.
Brian Droste 4 months ago
I have seen quite a few of these here on BP before. Still nice to see them again.
Justin Tyme 4 months ago
Bored Panda Staff: "Let's repost this list every week. It's easier than finding new content."
Kalikima 4 months ago
I thought it was very interesting, and it had a lot of stuff I hadn't seen. No one forced you to read this, or come here.. relax, it's FREE. It's not like you paid for this and got ripped off..
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Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 4 months ago
BP often cuts the lists down.
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SlightlyTarnished 4 months ago
Mostly recycled photos that have been posted on BP numerous times.
Tyranamar Seuss 4 months ago
Almost every single one of these is a repeat. Some I have seen on here multiple times. I'm disappointed. Surely there is new material out there.
Brian Droste 4 months ago
I have seen quite a few of these here on BP before. Still nice to see them again.
Justin Tyme 4 months ago
Bored Panda Staff: "Let's repost this list every week. It's easier than finding new content."
Kalikima 4 months ago
I thought it was very interesting, and it had a lot of stuff I hadn't seen. No one forced you to read this, or come here.. relax, it's FREE. It's not like you paid for this and got ripped off..
Load More Replies... Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 4 months ago
BP often cuts the lists down.
Load More Replies... SlightlyTarnished 4 months ago
Mostly recycled photos that have been posted on BP numerous times.
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