Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [neurology]

Generally regarded as the center of the nervous system in most living beings.

134 questions
111
votes
3 answers

Do we only use 10% of our brain?

I've heard claims that the average person uses only 10% of their "brain power," whatever that means. The implication, though, is that there the majority of our brain's potential is untapped. However, I've often heard this refrain from people who are…
Scott Mitchell
  • 5,923
  • 4
  • 35
  • 32
108
votes
8 answers

Could people perceive the color blue in ancient times?

This article claims that no ancient language anywhere in the world had the word for "blue", that for instance Homer described the sea as "wine-dark", and that the color blue has only appeared more recently in languages, more or less at the same time…
o0'.
  • 1,307
  • 2
  • 10
  • 14
54
votes
3 answers

Could an adult mind automatically adjust if a person was to wear glasses that inverted/flipped all vision?

It is known that the human eye anatomy makes it so that all images we see with our eyes are flipped upside down. Without noticing it, at an early age, the brain is adjusted to this. What I mean is that we at an adult stage don't walk around troubled…
AndroidHustle
  • 985
  • 7
  • 13
53
votes
1 answer

Do the Left Brain and Right Brain have different functions?

I've heard that the left brain controls the logical aspects of the thought and right brain controls the creative. Is there any truth to such claims?
Pulkit Sinha
  • 1,241
  • 1
  • 11
  • 8
51
votes
1 answer

Is there any harm in forcing/re-educating a left-handed child to use their right hand?

Backstory: Many of my relatives were subjected by their parents to a "training process" to "prevent" left-hand-dominance. This method started at a very young age and basically consisted of politely instructing the child to switch hands whenever…
ESultanik
  • 8,038
  • 3
  • 38
  • 49
46
votes
1 answer

Does it take the same force to bite through a finger as a carrot?

I've heard (multiple times) that your finger is as easy to bite through as a carrot. Here are some places I've seen it proposed: KGBAnswers WikiAnswers Additionally, it is a popular question on Yahoo! answers. None of these have particularly…
SSumner
  • 626
  • 1
  • 7
  • 14
44
votes
2 answers

Are obese patients in the US commonly sent to zoos for CT scans?

Nothing like the Daily Mail for raising an eyebrow: The bizarre requests to use CT scanners, normally intended for four-legged animals, at the UK’s leading veterinary college in north London were revealed as hospitals face pressure to adapt beds…
Fizz
  • 57,051
  • 18
  • 175
  • 291
42
votes
2 answers

Are there an unusually large number of people with Asperger's who work in or study IT or Computer Science?

I hear it claimed very often that there is a higher incidence of people with Asperger's Syndrome who work in IT or study computer science (far more so than other fields). This wired article touches on the claim: It's a familiar joke in the industry…
user6327
42
votes
1 answer

Can I get high using binaural beats?

Some sites claim that you can get high using binaural beats: All I-Doser doses are tested by a panel of users who consider themselves experienced in binaural beat modification. A dose is not passed on to the I-Doser Store until it is proven working…
Sklivvz
  • 78,578
  • 29
  • 321
  • 428
39
votes
2 answers

Do emotionally-driven tears release toxins from the body?

Sometime ago I'd heard someone trained in child psychology claim that crying for emotional reasons (as opposed to getting something in your eye for example) released toxins from the brain and/or body. More specifically, she claimed that…
eMansipater
  • 777
  • 1
  • 6
  • 13
38
votes
1 answer

Do methamphetamines give more pleasure than other human experiences?

This WatchData infographic video lists some of the worlds most pleasurable things ranked by how many dopamine units they produce At the top of the list, methamphetamines with 1250 dopamine units, ranking higher than falling In love and winning The…
user2638180
  • 2,396
  • 3
  • 17
  • 27
36
votes
3 answers

Near death experiences -- clinically dead person "sees" something, later verified to be true?

Related: Is there any explanation for a near-death experience? That question is about vague, light-in-the-tunnel near death experiences (NDEs). This question is about very specific claims I've heard advanced by Dr. Gary Habermas, a Christian…
Hendy
  • 21,665
  • 17
  • 116
  • 179
34
votes
1 answer

Is mental exhaustion something real?

I can go from working hard on algorithmic programming a whole day, and feeling totally mentally exhausted, to playing chess. As far as I can understand, these two types of thinking should be strongly related. My question is therefore, whether…
David
  • 443
  • 4
  • 5
32
votes
1 answer

How does deja vu work?

If you've ever had that fleeting, mysterious sense that something new -- a city or person you’re seeing for the first time -- is somehow familiar, that you’ve been there or known them before, then you can count yourself among those who…
Monkey Tuesday
  • 24,456
  • 19
  • 109
  • 136
31
votes
3 answers

Does the brain use more energy during mental work?

There is the idea that mental work is tiring. Does the brain as a whole need to consume more glucose and oxygen when we are "mentally active"?
Christian
  • 33,271
  • 15
  • 112
  • 266
1
2 3
…
8 9