The ‘selfish brain’ theory of evolution describes our brains as taking the energy

it needs, typically in the form of glucose, before doling out what remains to the
rest of the body. In other words, the brain selfishly prioritizes its own needs
which are comparably high.

A recent study from the University of Cambridge put this theory to the test by
challenging elite rowers to perform a memory task and a physical rowing task, first
separately and then at the same time. Performance in both the memory-related and
the physical tasks decreased when the students attempted to accomplish them
simultaneously, but their rowing suffered far more than their ability to recall
words for the memory task. On average, the participants showed a 30% greater drop
in their physical strength than in their cognitive abilities, suggesting the brain
does in fact take what it needs first when resources become scarce.

Although the selfish brain theory has been proposed as a possible origin for
physical issues like obesity, it may also push back against the idea that we are
stuck with an innate level of intelligence. If we can count on our brains to demand
our body’s limited resources, can we also count on them to continue to improve even
once we’re done growing in adulthood?
A common brain myth is that we only use 10% of our brain. I have certainly heard
this statistic and a study from only a few years ago showed that as many as 65% of
Americans believe it to be true. However, neurologists at the Mayo Clinic note that
throughout the course of the day, we use 100% of our brain with far more than 10%
of our brain being used even during sleep.

So how do we improve that brain function? Can we tap into our brain’s greed for
resources to boost our intelligence?