You’ve probably heard it said that we only use 10% of our brains — with the unspoken assumption being that if we could somehow increase that usage to even just 15%, we’d be supergeniuses.

Alas, that 10% usage claim turns out to be merely a myth. Research by spoilsport Barry L. Beyerstein of the Brain Behavior Laboratory at Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University suggests that the mistaken belief dates back to the pioneering American psychologist, William James, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was more of a selling point for various self-help works than a serious and verifiable scientific claim.

Apparently, according to the late Professor Beyerstein, all of our brain is in use and needed: observing the effects of head injury reveals that there does not seem to be any area of the brain that can be destroyed by strokes, head trauma, or other manner, without leaving the patient with some kind of functional deficit.

Another myth shattered. Darn.

On the other hand, it is fair to say that most of us do only use 10-20% of the capabilities of the technologies we have available to us. The Canadians recently conducted a research study into what mobile phone facilities we use. The results are regrettable but not surprising:

Use of mobile device features (Total Canada)

• 89% Phone calls
• 56% Clock/alarm
• 52% Text messaging
• 52% Camera
• 40% Calendar/agenda/organizer
• 28% Email
• 19% Emergencies Only
• 18% Instant messaging/Blackberry messenger
• 18% MP3’s /music/ videos
• 18% Picture/ video messaging
• 15% Web browsing
• 14% GPS or mapping services
• 14% Downloading (games, ringtones, etc)
• 13% Search
• 11% Facebook mobile
• 5% Contests/promotions
• 4% Subscriptions/alerts
• 3% Twitter mobile

Source: Delvinia’s 2009-2010 study of Canadian mobile behaviours conducted through AskingCanadians

These findings — which we’re sure represent a universal truth, not an unfortunate deficiency of maple-leafed mobile Mounties — suggest several underlying implications:

1. Those leading-edge early adopters we see at the front of every bell-curve are indeed a very small minority. Not only that, but the widgets and accessories they find so fascinating may NEVER be used by the mass market. So be careful not to bet the farm on new whizzbang technology that’s not thoroughly intuitive and user-friendly.

2. On the other hand, if your products offer slight enhancements on core features that are actually used by most customers, you just might be able to steal market share from your competitors who may offer significantly more advanced technology — but whose benefits on basic features are minimal. Want proof? Look no further than the original iPod or iPhone (not as advanced as their then-rivals, but user-friendly to the max).

3. If it comes down to an engineering choice between small human-friendly improvements and revolutionary big-picture makeovers, insist on (actually DEMAND) validating consumer research before you commit to high-tech solutions that win awards but fail in the marketplace.

4. If you want to impress your colleagues, clients and peers with your technological superiority, simply RTFM (Read The Full Manuals) for some of the stuff that you already use in everyday life. You’ll be amazed at the hidden capabilities of some of the ordinary tools out there — look no further than mastering a few of the features of Microsoft Office and you’ll dazzle your co-workers showing off capabilities that you previously never knew existed!

Tags: Canada, Mobile, potential, research, usage