Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School
by John Medina
List Price:
Our Price: $8.52
You Save: $6.48 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $6.16 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: John MedinaEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-03-10
ISBN: 0979777747
Number of pages: 301
Publisher: Pear Press
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780979777745
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School
Book Review: Welcome to the jungle!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Though we have been stuffing them into classrooms and cubicles for decades, our brains actually were built to survive in jungles and grasslands. We have not outgrown this."
In the recent years, there are many new books on brain science and social science. There are far too many. Brain Rules by John Medina is one of them. However, while most other brain science (neuroscience or however you call it) books always tell us amazing mysteries of our brains, "Brain Rules" by John Medina tells us amazing mysteries and it will also sometimes tell you... "well, we don't really know about that yet!". If you are looking for a secret of the universe book (which no one knows it yet), this might not be a book for you. But if you want to know about your brain, how it works, and how can you improve your life, this book is a safe bet.
Contents (The Rules)
1.Exercise: Exercise boosts brain power
Our evolutionary history can be summed up into two words: "We moved" (Yes, We Moved!...). We moved from Africa to all over the world. We didn't take the low-cost flight. Human development was in jungles and grasslands. David Medina told us how exercise improve the performance of your brain, and it is astoundingly significant in terms of thinking as well as aging.
2.Survival: The human brain evolved, too.
"We learned to grow fangs not in our mouth but in the head", in this chapter, the author wrote about "symbolic reasoning" and described our brain for those (like me) who are not familiar with the science of brain.
3.Wiring: Every brain is wired differently
In the beginning, John Medina familiarises us with the metaphors of DNA and neurons. There was a story about "Jennifer Aniston neuron" which is interesting and funny in a way. The chapter also tells us that verious regions of the brain develop at different rates in different people and what we do in life literally changes the way it looks like.
4.Attention: We don't pay attention to boring things
The title says it all, this chapter is about attention and how we are aware of things. Dr. David Medina then elaborate the better way of teaching to improve the education of our children.
5.Short-term memory: Repeat to remember
This chapter is about memory, where it goes to and where it is processed. This is quite complicated to conventional thought (like me, duh) because memory (and our brain) is not like computer, it has no hard drive to store data. There are many other interesting findings. The author also suggest a better way for school and business to improve memory and learning.
6.Long-term memory: Remember to repeat
David Medina wrote about how our brain works; there are more than one ways to retrieve the long-term memory. We also tend to mix new knowledge with the past memories. There is also a compelling story of a Russian journalist Solomon Shereshevskii who has a virtually unlimited memory capacity. He can recall a complex formula of letters and numbers containing about 30 items... after 15 years... (not a typo, 15 years).
7.Sleep: Sleep well, think well
This is one of my favourite chapters. The author wrote about how different people have a need to sleep differently and the benefit of taking a nap during the daytime (my ex-boss won't like that). Insufficient sleep will undermine your brain and the chapter also tells us that sleep might actually be the key to the process of learning.
8.Stress: Stressed brains don't learn the same way
From the opposite view of sleep, stress hurts us. The evolution of the brain defines stress as an immediate circumstance, fighting a polar bear or running away from a jaguar, for example. Our brains are not shaped to cope with long-term stresses such as credit crunch or failed marriage. The chapter tells us how stress can hurt us and the author suggests an excellent way to improve the education system, lowering children's stress by teaching parents, among others.
9.Sensory integration: Stimulate more of the senses
In learning, we always do better in a multi-sensory environments and smells have an unusual power to bring back memories, strange but true.
10.Vision: Vision trumps all other sense
"We do not see with our eyes. We see with our brains." The fist story of this chapter is about wine experts. Wine specialists have a way of describing the taste of white and red wines differently. A cheeky researcher put an odorless red dye into white wine. All 54 expert tasters described it by the vocabularies of the red wine. Vision is the most dominant sense.
11.Gender: Male and female brains are different
The chapter is about the difference between genders. How different our brains are, how different we communicate, develop social relationship and so on.
12.Exploration: We are powerful and natural explorers
This is a conclusion chapter telling us that we learn and evolve. We have learnt and we will continue learning. We moved and we will move on.
...
I'll compare "Brain Rules" to my personal ideal business book; a book that is easy to understand, distinct, practical, credible, insightful, and provides great reading experience
Ease of Understanding: 7/10: I have to divide it in two parts, the structure of the content and the content itself. The structure is very sound, each chapter is devoted to different topics but the content itself, the brain science, is not very easy to understand. If you read the book, you will know that the author tried and did an amazing job to simplify them but still, as a layman in this subject, I find it hard to understand all of it. But if you are a brain scientist or someone who did well in brain anatomy (as opposed to a person who nearly failed biology in a high school like me), it might be a walk in the park.
Distinction: 6/10: I have to be fair to say that there are many books of this kind available. The good thing is that each chapter can be a book of itself but Dr. David Medina did a great job synthesising and writing the brief key findings of each of them.
Practicality: 8/10: One of the best things of "Brain Rules" is towards the end of the most chapters, the author wrote "idea" of how to implement it mostly for the companies and schools. For individuals, we can easy grasp what we read from the book and implement as well.
Credibility: 10/10: A brain scientist writing a brain science book is better than a journalist writing about it, obviously. But the key is that this book is, or at least sounds, sincere and honest. There are many books that claim the new finding of our brain is the secret of the universe (I might exaggerate here but you know what I mean). This book does not. When the author does not know or does not have the evidence on a particular subject that is relevant, he says "we don't know it yet". It is better to not have an information than a false one.
Insight: 8/10: In each chapter, there are many short stories related to the topic. These stories might be researches, personal stories, brain metaphors, brain diseases, and so forth. They are all very interesting and I wish they were longer.
Reading Experience: 9/10: It would be ironic if a writer who wrote a chapter on "Attention: We don't pay attention to boring things", actually wrote boring stuffs. And this book is far from it and it really gets your attention. It is a fun read with a great sense of humour from the author.
Overall: 8.0/10: How much will you understand more about your brain? You will understand much more on how it has been evolved, how it functions, and how it should be treated. How much will it change your life? It depends, it you really value your brain, there are obvious things such as exercise more, sleep well, and less stress and there are things that will enhance your learning. There is no step-by-step instruction to power up your brain but you will know the rules.
More Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Summary of Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School
See how the brain works while using it in the process of reading this book! Most of us have no idea what's really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details every business leader, parent, and teacher should know - like that physical activity boosts your brain power.How do we learn? What exactly do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multi-tasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget - and so important to repeat new information? Is it true that men and women have different brains?
In Brain Rules, Dr. John Medina, a molecular biologist, shares his lifelong interest in how the brain sciences might influence the way we teach our children and the way we work. In each chapter, he describes a brain rule - what scientists know for sure about how our brains work - and then offers transformative ideas for our daily lives.
Medina's fascinating stories and sense of humour breathe life into brain science. You'll learn why Michael Jordan was no good at baseball. You'll peer over a surgeon's shoulder as he proves that we have a Jennifer Aniston neuron. You'll meet a boy who has an amazing memory for music but can't tie his own shoes.
Personal Transformation Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Personal Transformation Books
Head Strongby Tony Buzan
Thorsons; Published: 2001-10-01; Paperback; Book
Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership by Gardner, Howardby Howard Gardner
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; Published: 1996-01-08; Hardcover; Book
I Am My Mother's Daughter: Making Peace with Mom--Before It's Too Lateby Iris Krasnow
Basic Books; Published: 2007-04-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.65
Price in other shops:
A Guide for the Advanced Soul: A Book of Insightby Susan Hayward
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 1995-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.79
Price in other shops:
Boundariesby Henry Cloud, John Townsend
Zondervan; Published: 2001-09-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $20.99
Price in other shops:
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No to Take Control of Your Lifeby Dr. Henry Cloud, Dr. John Townsend
Zondervan; Published: 1992-11-02; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Safe People Workbookby Henry Cloud, John Townsend
Zondervan; Published: 1995-06-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.37
Price in other shops:
A Three Dog Lifeby Abigail Thomas
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Published: 2006-09-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.29
Price in other shops:
Blink : The Power of Thinking Without Thinkingby Malcolm Gladwell
Penguin Books; Published: 2001-08-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.72
Spiritual Divorce: Divorce As a Catalyst for an Extraordinary Lifeby Debbie Ford
HarperOne; Published: 2001-01-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.91
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Leadership Passages: The Personal and Professional Transitions That Make or Break a Leader (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership)by David L. Dotlich, James L. Noel, Norman Walker
Jossey-Bass; Published: 2004-09-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.74
Price in other shops:
Winners Never Cheat: Even in Difficult Times, New and Expanded Editionby Jon M. Huntsman
Pearson Prentice Hall; Published: 2008-11-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.90
Price in other shops:
Theft of the Spirit: A Journey to Spiritual Healingby Carl Hammerschlag
Touchstone; Published: 1994-08-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops:
The Heart Aroused : Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate Americaby David Whyte
Crown Business; Published: 1996-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.85
Price in other shops:
The Princeby Niccolo Machiavelli
Penguin Classics; Published: 2009-11-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.74
Price in other shops:
The Path of the Everyday Hero: Drawing on the Power of Myth to Meet Life's Most Important Challengesby Lorna Catford, Michael Ray
Creative Quest Publications; Published: 2004-11-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops:
Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Upby Patricia Ryan Madson
Bell Tower; Published: 2005-05-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.58
Price in other shops:
The Zen of Listening: Mindful Communication in the Age of Distractionby M.A. Rebecca Z. Shafir CCC
Quest Books; Published: 2003-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.75
Price in other shops:
The Nibble Theory and the Kernel of Power: A Book about Leadership, Self-Empowerment, and Personal Growthby Kaleel Jamison
Paulist Press; Published: 2004-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops:
Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Fiveby John Medina
Pear Press; Published: 2011-12-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.53
Price in other shops: