I really liked this movie, but I didn't like the way they did the bit about using a certain percentage of the brain. They should have said something that would innately sound more impressive, some greater means of understanding. When they say, "I use 51 percent of my brain", it just sounded like the person was mentally retarded. Wouldn't they pick something to say that actually sounded like it was more intelligent?
share[deleted]
Actually, the whole "humans use only 10%" of their brain isn't true. Humans use their entire brain with different areas of the brain utilized for different functions. The whole "big brain" bit is a comic device based on an old fallacy.
shareits more along the lines of you do in fact use the majority of your brain.. the problem is that there is really not a way to tell how much you use for what purposes.
They have made huge strides in mapping out what parts of the brain do what.... but you dont use all of your brain all of the time.
so yes... its a comic device for this movie. but not entirely inaccurate depending on your point of view... still, its far from the truth.
The "Big Brain Bit" as Rip Torn's character called it, I believe was really this way of saying that a big brain was how connected to the rest of universe you where. In the example that he is using it, he was responding to a question of "How did you know?" regarding an event that had taken place in Judgement City." and he responded, "Still don't get the big brain bit, do you?" He was away while this event took place, so to know about it he had to either be given the information about it when he returned, or know it had taken place because he was connnected to the universe (The big machine as he called it in the first meeting with Daniel.)
As for humor, yes, I think it was a funny repeat bit on so many levels. Envy from earth and more.