Brain Rules

BRAIN RULES:
12 PRINCIPLES FOR SURVIVING
AND THRIVING AT WORK, HOME,
AND SCHOOL
by John Medina. Pear Press, 2008

OUTLINE OF BOOK'S
FACTS AND IDEAS
1-20-16

INTRODUCTION (1-5)

Note from page 5 = To stay as reader-friendly as possible, exensive references are not in this book but can be found at:

www.brainrules.net

[1] 12 Brain rules (2-3)

[2] No prescriptions (3-4)

[3] Back to the jungle (4-5)

1) RULE #1 = EXERCISE --- Exercise boosts brain power! (7-27)

Ideas to think about in chapter one =

"road-building"

Ideas

"Exercise boosts brain power."

2) RULE #2 = SURVIVAL --- The human brain evolved, too! (29-47)

Ideas to think about in chapter two =

"Theory of Mind." is one of the most important ideas in the book!

"We try to see our entire world in terms of motivations, ascribing motivations to our pets and even to inanimate objects!"

"mind reading." (44)

"Theory of Mind is something humans have like no other creature,"

Theory of Mind

"Our intellectual prowess, from language to mathematics to art, may have come from the powerful need to predict our neighbor's psychological interiors."

"The human brain evolved, too!"

3) RULE #3 = WIRING --- Every brain is wired differently! (49-70)

Ideas to think about in chapter three =

Ideas

"Every brain is wired differently!"

4) RULE #4 = ATTENTION --- We don't pay attention to boring things! (71-94)

Ideas to think about in chapter four =

Ideas

"core concept"

"People don't pay attention to boring things."

5) RULE #5 = SHORT-TERM MEMORY --- Repeat to remember! (95-119)

Ideas to think about in chapter five =

Ideas

"Repeat to remember!"

6) RULE #6 = LONG-TERM MEMORY --- Remember to repeat! (121-147)

Ideas to think about in chapter six =

Ideas

"Remember to repeat!"

7) RULE #7 = SLEEP --- Sleep well, think well (149-168)

Ideas to think about in chapter seven =

Ideas

"Sleep well, think well!"

8) RULE #8 = STRESS --- Stressed brains don't learn the same way! (169-195)

Ideas to think about in chapter eight =

Ideas

"Stressed brains don't learn the same way!"

9) RULE #9 = SENSORY INTEGRATION --- Stimulate more of the senses! (197-219)

Ideas to think about in chapter nine =

"British model"

"hierarchical"

"higher brain regions"

"bottom-up"

"top-down"

"American model"

Ideas

"Stimulate more of the senses at the same time!"

10) RULE #10 = VISION --- Vision trumps all other senses! (221-240)

Ideas to think about in chapter ten =

Ideas

"Vision trumps all other senses!"

11) RULE #11 = GENDER --- Male and female brains are different! (241-260)

Ideas to think about in chapter eleven =

Ideas

"Male and female brains are different!"

12) RULE #12 = EXPLORATION --- We are powerful and natural explorers! (261-280)

Ideas to think about in chapter twelve =

Ideas

"medical school model"

"college of education"

"We are powerful and natural explorers!"

REFERENCES --- Extensive notated references and illustrations are online at: (281)

www.brainrules.net

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (283)

INDEX (285-299)

AUTHOR NOTE &
BOOK DESCRIPTION

AUTHOR NOTE = John Medina is a developmental molecular biologist and research consultant. He is an affiliate professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He was the founding director of two brain research institutes: the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research, at Seattle Pacific University, and the Talaris Research Institute, a nonprofit organization originally focused on how infants encode and process information. Medina lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife and two boys.

The ideas in John Medina's BRAIN RULES book can be seen online at:

www.brainrules.com

and

www.johnmedina.com

BOOK DESCRIPTION = 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 --- such as the brain's need for physical activity to work at its best.

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?

The book, Brain Rules (12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School), pulls off a terrific trick: combining popular science with touching personal memoir and a bunch of practical conclusions for improving work, education and personal life.

It takes the brain's mysteries apart into twelve pieces: Exercise, survival, wiring, attention, short?term memory, long?term memory, sleep, stress, multi-sensory perception, vision, gender, and exploration. He discusses the best, most current science describing what drives each one, delving into psychology, neurology, evolutionary biology, and practical disciplines like behavioral economics, organizational science, and pedagogy.

Woven into the science are a series of vivid anecdotes from Medina's life and from case histories gathered across the scientific literature, and emerging naturally from that are a series of eminently practical recommendations for reforming the workplace and the education system, and for improving the way that we interact with ourselves and others.

Medina's approach to the subject combines the best aspects of Oliver Sacks and Getting Things Done, making the book into something that's part manifesto and part education. The BrainRules.net site features a ton of audio and video about the book's subject (Medina's descriptions of the value of multi-sensory learning are very compelling) and other supplementary material, and the book comes bundled with a DVD containing much of this material as well.

BOOK REVIEWS

FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY = Multitasking is the great buzz word in business today, but as developmental molecular biologist Medina tells readers in a chapter on attention, the brain can really only focus on one thing at a time. This alone is the best argument for not talking on your cellphone while driving. Medina (The Genetic Inferno) presents readers with a basket containing an even dozen good principles on how the brain works and how we can use them to our benefit at home and work. The author says our visual sense trumps all other senses, so pump up those PowerPoint presentations with graphics. The author says that we don't sleep to give our brain a restCstudies show our neurons firing furiously away while the rest of the body is catching a few z's. While our brain indeed loses cells as we age, it compensates so that we continue to be able to learn well into our golden years. Many of these findings and minutiae will be familiar to science buffs, but the author employs an appealing style, with suggestions on how to apply his principles, which should engage all readers. DVD not seen by PW.(Mar.) --Copyright 8 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In Brain Rules, molecular biologist Dr. John Medina 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 humor breathe life into brain science. You'll learn why Michael Jordan was no good at baseball. You will peer over a surgeon's shoulder as he finds, to his surprise, 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.

You will discover how:

In the end, you'll understand how your brain really works and how to get the most out of it.

About the DVD The Brain Rules DVD, included with this book, is a lively tour of the 12 brain rules. You will experience firsthand Medina's rare gift for making science fun, accessible, and relevant. The DVD will take your understanding of the book to the next level. Boing Boing review -- http://feeds.feedburner.com/BrainRules. This is syndicated from Brain Rules, and written by noreply@blogger.com (John Medina).

The genius of this book is that it uses the most recent scientific research, discussed in a very entertaining way, to identify 12 rules for optimizing your most important tool --- your brain. Read the chapter on "Attention" and you will never give a presentation in the same way again. Read the chapter on "Sleep" and you will understand why an afternoon nap can be the most productive 20 minutes of your work day. Read the chapter on "Exercise" and you'll finally get why great ideas (Ok, and maybe some clunkers but at least you're thinking!) come to you in the middle of your workout. Like the author, you may toss the guest chair and put a treadmill in your office with a bracket for your laptop ? this gives new meaning to the concept of management by walking around. The bottom line is that brain science is beginning to produce really useful information about how our brains are wired; this book is a user's manual on how to work with the way we're wired instead of fighting against it. I highly recommend it. -- by K. Sampanthar "Inventor of ThinkCube" (Boston, MA)

SUMMARY = John Medina has written one of the best brain books I have read. He is a molecular biologist and director of Brain Center for Applied Learning at the Seattle Pacific University. He explains the latest research on the brain, and there have been a lot of advances recently on how the brain works. He boils them down to 12 rules that will help you in all walks of life. If you want an owner's manual for the brain then this is probably the one that should be handed out with every new-born.

AUDIENCE = Everyone and I mean everyone should read this book! As long as they have a Homo Sapien brain, if you have one of the older models; homo erectus, neanderthal you should probably wait for evolution! This is truly an owner's manual for the brain! If you are a student or knowledge worker you should run; yes running will actually help you digest the material in the book better (Rule #2 = Exercise --- exercise boosts brain power); to buy it and read it! Medina outlines some of his own thoughts on how to leverage the rules in the home, school and work.

DETAILS = John Medina has written one of the best brain books I have ever read. There are many books out at the moment that talk about the latest research on brains but John's is undoubtedly the best. Neuroscience has taken some giant leaps in the understanding of how the brain works in the last 20 years. I was researching Artificial Intelligence back in the early 90's and since then there has been a lot of new research in this area.

For the last year I have been catching up and reading everything I can find on neuroscience and that was how I stumbled across Medina's book. I nearly put it aside since it seemed too basic but boy am I glad I didn't. This book is fun to read and I learned a lot. I love John's approach of only including research that follows certain criteria. For a study to appear in this book it has to pass the Medina Grump Factor (MGF) ? (John refers to himself as a grumpy scientist)

1) Research must be published in a peer-reviewed journal

2) The research must be successfully replicated.

Even though the material in this book is based on cutting edge research you should not feel intimidated. This book is well written and the material is presented following many of rules that are outlined. The book is actually a pleasure to read! Following these rules has lead Medina to not only structure the book so it is easy to digest; adding stories, chunking information, providing summaries etc but he has also included a DVD with videos and an accompanying website with more information and references. This is truly a full sensory experience (Rule #4: Attention? We don't pay attention to boring things! Rule #9 Sensory Information --- Stimulate more of the senses, Rule #10 Vision --- Vision trumps all other senses)

If you want to understand your brain and improve it; and everyone should want to understand their brain and improve it; you should read this book.

The "take-away" benefits from reading the book are --- I can't say enough good things about this book. John Medina has written an excellent book leveraging all the latest research about the brain and turning it into a set of rules to remember. Your brain will never feel the same again! Read and then follow Medina's advice on how your brain remembers new information and how often you should review it (Rule #5 Short Term Memory = Repeat to remember, Rule #6 Long Term Memory = Remember to repeat). Kes Sampanthar.

By J. Brown (Florida United States) -- I believe personal productivity and performance as a leader are directly correlated. Just like we have to lead a team, we have to lead ourselves to a higher level of a productivity and effectiveness. In all of the leadership classes I teach, emphasis is placed on knowing yourself. When you know yourself it provides you the ability to adapt to weaknesses and leverage your strengths (increase your personal productivity and effectiveness).

Knowing how your brain functions is part of knowing yourself.

This book is so insightful and valuable that I sent copies to my clients. The value of the book hinges on the understanding of the brain and how it works which allows me to leverage that knowledge for increased personal productivity and in my interactions and relationships with others.

Myth Busters for the brain!

The book is a fairly easy read because the author uses stories to illustrate the functionality of the brain. This book is not a "leadership?lite" book filled with cute and truthful antidotes, but a book with hard science communicated in an interesting way. Dr. John J. Medina is a developmental molecular biologist. He also shares what scientists don't know about how the brain works!

This book gave me many, many "take-aways" and here are just six:

1. Some parts of the brain are just like a baby's and can grow new connections and strengthen existing connections. We have the ability to learn new things our entire life. Medina states this was "not the prevailing notion until 5 or 6 years ago." So much for the "you can't teach and old dog new tricks excuse." The old dog line is exposed for what it really is...an excuse.

2. Humans can only pay attention for about ten minutes and then need some kind of reset.

3. The brain can only focus on one thing at a time. This is further rationale on the futility of multi-tasking.

4. Exercise increases brain power and aerobic --- exercise twice a week reduces the risk of general dementia by 50% and Alzheimer's by 60%.

5. There is a biological need for an afternoon nap.

6. The brain is very active during sleep and loss of sleep hurts cognitive and physical ability.

Buy and read Brain Rules. It will benefit you.

One of the reasons I read leadership books is to learn new things but also to get old truths hammered into my thick skull so they result in action. Action! So you may know or have heard of some of the truths in "Brain Rules" but I guarantee the author brings them to you in a unique an interesting way with solid depth that will allow you to easier implement those truths into how you handle yourself and others on a daily basis. -- Dr. James T. Brown PMP PE CSP-- Author, The Handbook of Program Management

BRAIN RULE RUNDOWN = Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too.

BRAIN RULE RUNDOWN = Rule #8: Stressed brains don't learn the same way.

[1] Your brain is built to deal with stress that lasts about 30 seconds. The brain is not designed for long term stress when you feel like you have no control. The saber-toothed tiger ate you or you ran away but it was all over in less than a minute. If you have a bad boss, the saber-toothed tiger can be at your door for years, and you begin to deregulate. If you are in a bad marriage, the saber-toothed tiger can be in your bed for years, and the same thing occurs. You can actually watch the brain shrink.

[2] Stress damages virtually every kind of cognition that exists. It damages memory and executive function. It can hurt your motor skills. When you are stressed out over a long period of time it disrupts your immune response. You get sicker more often. It disrupts your ability to sleep. You get depressed.

[3] The emotional stability of the home is the single greatest predictor of academic success. If you want your kid to get into Harvard, go home and love your spouse.

[4] You have one brain. The same brain you have at home is the same brain you have at work or school. The stress you are experiencing at home will affect your performance at work, and vice versa.

Instantly return to:
ALPHABETIZED BRAIN BOOK LIST