10% brain myth

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Austen Shane March 4, 2009 Com 114 Section 77 Explaining News Speech Outline General Purpose Statement: To explain Specific Purpose Statement: To explain to my audience that we do, in fact, use all of our brains and not 10% like commonly believed. Thesis Statement: The idea that humans only use ten percent of their brains is a myth that pervades popular culture, but a myth that under closer examination of its origins, the actuality of the myth’s truth and a look at the famous case of Phineas Gage will prove false. Introduction: I. Attention Getter: “It’s been said that we use a mere 10% of our brain capacity”, others have said “you only use 11% of its potential”, and it has also been said that “the ‘hidden nine-tenths’ of your mental strength lies buried”, unfortunately as interesting as all these quotes sound they are all just slogans used by advertisers to sell digital TV, books, and even sell airplane tickets (Chudler, 2008). II. Credibility Statement: The myth that we only use ten percent of brains has been around for decades and in order to debunk the myth I researched articles in Scientific American, The Journal of Neuropsychiatry, and even the original article from 1848 written by the doctor who treated Phineas Gage. III. Relate Topic to Audience: Many of you, like myself, have probably heard and this myth and even believed it to be true, because it allows us to believe that there is unlocked potential within us and fantasize about what we could be if only we knew how to unravel the brain’s secrets. IV. Thesis Statement: The idea that humans only use ten percent of their brains is a myth that pervades popular culture, but a myth that under closer examination of its origins, the actuality of the myth’s truth and a look at the famous case of Phineas Gage will prove false. Transition: Since this myth has been around for I began by trying to
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