I saw Lucy yesterday. I liked it overall, but had a hard time getting around its use of the 10% brain myth. I enjoy sci-fi and fantasy, so suspending my disbelief is pretty easy, but I have a hard time when a major plot point is something we know is untrue for the world in which the story is set.
I have been thinking about how the story could have gone forward without relying on a false premise. Here is what I came up with.
An aspect of our brains that we do not use to full capacity is networking. We communicate through language, written and oral. What if we could actually connect brain-to-brain? Certainly our ability to accurately communicate with each other would improve drastically. Could it be like networking computers? Would our computing power increase with each brain in the network?
The movie would start with Lucy able to make the connection through touch. With her increased brain power she works out how to network with nearby brains without physical contact. As the movie progresses she is able to extend her range. By the end of the film she at the apex of a global network and can connect with any organism that has some kind of brain. Otherwise the plot moves along the same as in the theatrical release.
As an aside, this movie has a strong female lead, so the Bechdel Test is going to be applied to it. Does it pass? I’d have to say yes and no. There are a total of four women with speaking parts (unless you want to count the extras talking on cell phones). One of those women is the voice of Lucy’s mother on the phone. Another is a nurse who has two lines that she speaks to a male doctor.
That leaves just one conversation between two women, Lucy and her friend Caroline. Caroline’s side of the conversation is all about a guy she met. Lucy is using her new-found abilities to multitask, and seems distant from the conversation. However, she is participating, and does not talk about any men other than a brief mention of her boyfriend in response to one of Caroline’s questions. Can a conversation half pass the test?