Comment Re:All those neurons using less than 1 watt? (Score 4, Interesting) 198
Actually if you read TFA, the long-pondered question of why humans only use 1-15% of their brain is largely a matter of power consumption, and the reason for the abundance of dormant neurons is for greater potential diversity of thought.
"While accounting for just 2 percent of our body weight, the human brain devours 20 percent of the calories that we eat."
"The brain achieves optimal energy efficiency by firing no more than 1 to 15 percent—and often just 1 percent—of its neurons at a time."
That seems to indicate that a human brain would burn more calories than the rest of the body if it were "always on".
Being a hypoglycemia sufferer, I can attest to the severe limitations of brain activity when deprived of sugar. Before being diagnosed I underwent tunnel vision and black-outs, not to mention the typical mood swings, shakiness, cold sensations, etc.
Never has my nickname been more appropriate...