I loved "Lucy" SPOILERS!

[Michael Morris]

I enjoyed it. Then again, I was just looking to be entertained, not educated.

Also, on the 10% business - my understanding is that at any given time only 10% to 20% of the brain is active - BUT - the exact areas that are active changes by activity. Like right now I'm sitting. The part of my brain that controls walking doesn't have anything to do so its quiet. We do use all of our brain, just not all at once. And given the specialized nature of the areas of the mind, its unlikely we ever will.

Computers are starting to go in this direction as well. As we enter a world with more cores, expect to see specialized cores for common tasks thrown in. Right now APU's have Graphics (GPU) and general purpose (CPU) cores, but I see no reason to start seeing dedicated audio cores being added at the least, and possibly cores specialized in working cryptographic math operations to speed up security. Time will tell.

 

[biotech66]

I enjoyed it. Then again, I was just looking to be entertained, not educated.

Also, on the 10% business - my understanding is that at any given time only 10% to 20% of the brain is active - BUT - the exact areas that are active changes by activity. Like right now I'm sitting. The part of my brain that controls walking doesn't have anything to do so its quiet. We do use all of our brain, just not all at once. And given the specialized nature of the areas of the mind, its unlikely we ever will.

Computers are starting to go in this direction as well. As we enter a world with more cores, expect to see specialized cores for common tasks thrown in. Right now APU's have Graphics (GPU) and general purpose (CPU) cores, but I see no reason to start seeing dedicated audio cores being added at the least, and possibly cores specialized in working cryptographic math operations to speed up security. Time will tell.

I agree with Michael. The movie spins the concept as more of an argument that you don't use all your potential, not that you don't use all your brain. As she unlocks more potential she also gets more powerful.

As for the acting, I liked that she changed. Movie Bob on the Escapist review talked about how she changed and basically over the course of the movie became Dr. Manhattan. I thought that was a good decision.

I liked this movie. Its not my favorite by any means, But, of the summer movies, this one is better then most.

 

[RangerWickett]

The 10% thing was annoying, but no more so than every action movie having the US military show up with shock and awe.

That said, if only 10% of your brain is active at a time, and you multiplied that by 10, I'm pretty sure you'd bake your noggin and pop like Scanners.

 

[Michael Morris]

The 10% thing was annoying, but no more so than every action movie having the US military show up with shock and awe.

That said, if only 10% of your brain is active at a time, and you multiplied that by 10, I'm pretty sure you'd bake your noggin and pop like Scanners.

No. You'd have a seizure. That's essentially what a seizure is - all of the neurons of the brain firing at once in panic cascades. The more of the brain that's involved, the more severe (and dangerous) the seizure.

 

[Umbran]

Also, on the 10% business - my understanding is that at any given time only 10% to 20% of the brain is active - BUT - the exact areas that are active changes by activity.

The first part of that is incorrect. Your full brain is active pretty much all the time. When performing a given activity, certain regions become even more active. The error is in then interpreting the "not-more-active" state as "unused", which is simply inaccurate.

The part of my brain that controls walking doesn't have anything to do so its quiet.

This is another inaccurate description of function. The brain is divided up into areas, dedicated to functions, but there's a limit to the specificity - there isn't a discrete "walking area" and say, another discrete "drinking water" area. Sitting down is not a "zero activity" state. It is a bit lower activity, but sitting up still requires balance and muscle action, so there will be activity in areas for motor control and balance - if those regions were truly inactive when sitting, you'd flop over like a rag doll. Walking is more complicated, so processing goes up in those areas when you walk.

 

[Michael Morris]

The first part of that is incorrect. Your full brain is active pretty much all the time. When performing a given activity, certain regions become even more active. The error is in then interpreting the "not-more-active" state as "unused", which is simply inaccurate.

You're being pedantic. Yes, the only brain cells that aren't active on some level are dead. Pointing that nuance out adds nothing to the discussion.

 

[Umbran]

You're being pedantic. Yes, the only brain cells that aren't active on some level are dead. Pointing that nuance out adds nothing to the discussion.

It isn't just nuance.

Your walking example points that out - if your motor centers were "unused" when you were sitting down, you'd flop over. This means those areas are decidedly doing something for you. There's processing going on, constant adjustment. There is a constant flow of activity throughout the brain that tosses the 10% thing out the darned window. There isn't a 90% of processing power unused that you can co-opt for other functions!

I mean, from an evolutionary standpoint, that would make no sense whatsoever. Your brain is a terribly expensive organ - at only a couple percent of your body mass, it chews up roughly 20% of the energy you use. If most of that is "running idle" for no good purpose, that is *incredibly* wasteful, and anyone who could that energy use down would have a decided advantage in lower food requirements. Just as nature tends to reduce wings in flightless birds, you'd expect unused brain potential to get reduced over time.

 

[Michael Morris]

Just as nature tends to reduce wings in flightless birds, you'd expect unused brain potential to get reduced over time.

<joking>Considering the kinds of people getting elected by the general public, that may well be in progress

That or TV does indeed rot the brain.</joking>