Brain Facts: What You Don't Know About The Body's Most Powerful Organ
They say that speaking to a kid in their native language along with a second English (if you’re in the U.S.) is the best way to help that kid learn to speak both languages fluently, with the least amount of effort. It makes sense. At birth, a newborn’s brain is about 25 percent of its adult weight. Within the next three years, however, it goes through tremendous growth, reaching 90 percent of its adult weight, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Considering there’s total of about 85 billion neurons in the human brain, that’s a lot of extra brain power these kids have — no wonder they randomly surprise us with their smarts.
The brain is arguably the most powerful organ in the human body. After all, it’s responsible for everything from the way you move to what you think. It’s even active while you’re asleep, getting rid of all the unneeded memories from the day (among other brain trash) allowing you to wake up refreshed and ready to bombard it with commands and experiences all over again. To achieve all these tasks on tasks on tasks, those 85 billion neurons must complete upwards of five trillion chemical reactions each second, at speeds of over 260 miles per hour. That’s quite a feat, and considering the importance of our brains, it makes me wonder why so many people believe understanding it is irrelevant to their daily lives.
For those of you who don’t, you can learn more random facts about the brain in the Plethrons video below.