Of Myths and Urban legends

today, right in the middle of some engaging conversation with some friends of mine, i was reminded of sum so called fact that i had read numerous times, n which had been etched into my brain so perfectly, that all disregard to logic of the fact was brushed aside, and it was blindly accepted in my mind as one of the axioms of life, just like a + b = b + a is undisputed, its just accepted as a universal truth.
Bio as a subject has always fascinated me. Not that seed n agriculture crap, just what i call pure unadulterated bio, like pertaining to human body organs. The way they are intricately designed, how delicately they depend on each other for overall functionality, etc. But the most intriguing part of all is the brain, something that the best 'brains' have failed to comprehend fully.
well what links the above two paras is something im sure most of you have heard about. Well comin bac to that, in the middle of a conversation, i blurt out as a matter-of-factly that humans use only 10 % of their brain. Well, someone is reminded of Kyle XY or smthin, ( a series in which a person uses 100% of his brain n is thus a supergenius) and a potent topic for discussion is born. Well from here on, we discuss the possibilities, like phsycic abilities, or rather the persons havin them must use a bit extra of their brain. We go on to hypothesize that telepathy, telekinesis must use the stronger electromagnetic waves emnating from the brain due to the extra usage, and that somehow it must be possible to measure the strength of the signals with much more ease, etc etc. And as is typical of such topics, the discussion goes on for quite some time, with each member of the group coming up with even more fantastic possibilities.
I should interrupt here by mentioning that the group consisted of 2 IITians, 1 Bitsian ( excluding me ) , 1 NITian , and 1 CMIian ( CMI = chennai mathematical institute, for those who dont know, its one of the most prestigious institutes in india for pure mathematics ). So obviously the topic shifted to how it can be measured, how it could be used, if such a thing could be developed further etc etc.
In the end it made for quite a nice evening, with all that intellectual talk, leaving each of us a bit starry eyed, with limitless possibilities in front of us. With great fervor, i come home, switch on the PC, and google for more info.
i am greeted by the first site :

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Ten Percent of our Brains

shocked, i go on to read a long article about how most ppl believe the 10% myth, how the gullible ones believe phsycic abilities to be somehow linked to this myth, and how many self declared phsycics claim to use more that 10% of their brain to produce astounding results.
Well, i must say, whatever i expected, it wasnt this. Once i regain my composure, i think about it, and become stumped at my alertness, or rather the lack of it. In my enthusiasm to believe that anything is possible, i failed to see that brain isint that simple to be described as a percntage. In my haste to try n think beyond my level for once, i left all common sense behind. Not just me, all the so called elite members of that group.
Thats what Engineering does to you, i tell ya.