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John Medina

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Brain Rules (Updated and Expanded): 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School Second Edition, Kindle Edition

by John Medina (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 2,549 ratings

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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 knowlike the need for physical activity to get your brain working 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 forgetand so important to repeat new knowledge? 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 rulewhat scientists know for sure about how our brains workand then offers transformative ideas for our daily lives.

Medina’s fascinating stories and infectious sense of humor 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 most of us 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:

Every brain is wired differently
Exercise improves cognition
We are designed to never stop learning and exploring
Memories are volatile
Sleep is powerfully linked with the ability to learn
Vision trumps all of the other senses
Stress changes the way we learn

In the end, you’ll understand how your brain really worksand how to get the most out of it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dissects the workings of the brain in plain English, explaining its role in the workplace and classrooma writing style that makes words leap off the page."
- USA TODAY

"Oliver Sacks meets Getting Things Done."
- Cory Doctorow, co-editor of Boing Boing

"A marvelous job in simplifying the best ways to get the most out of our brains. He is funny, tender, and completely engaging. Everyone should read this book."
- John Ratey, MD, author of Spark and A User's Guide to the Brain

"Brain Rules is one of the most informative, engaging, and useful books of our time."
- Garr Reynolds, author of Presentation Zen

"A self-designated 'grumpy scientist,' Medina cites only research that has appeared in peer-reviewed journals and that has been successfully replicated. Remarkably, this molecular biologist is a gifted communicator who is able to write for both the scientist and the layperson."
- Psychiatric Times

"Medina has taken what may be the most complex thing we know -- the human mind -- and explained it in a way that even the human mind can understand. Brain Rules is THE book on how neuroscience can help you at work and at home."
- Douglas Stone, co-author of Difficult Conversations

"Few people are better qualified to help managers sift through all the hype than John Medina."
- Harvard Business Review

About the Author

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.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Go ahead and multiply the number 8,388,628 x 2 in your head. Can you do it in a few seconds? There is a young man who can double that number 24 times in the space of a few seconds. He gets it right every time. There is a boy who can tell you the precise time of day at any moment, even in his sleep. There is a girl who can correctly determine the exact dimensions of an object 20 feet away. There is a child who at age 6 drew such vivid and complex pictures, some people ranked her version of a galloping horse over one drawn by da Vinci. Yet none of these children have an IQ greater than 70.
The brain is an amazing thing.

Your brain may not be nearly so odd, but it is no less extraordinary. Easily the most sophisticated information-transfer system on Earth, your brain is fully capable of taking the little black squiggles in this book and deriving meaning from them. To accomplish this miracle, your brain sends jolts of electricity crackling through hundreds of miles of wires composed of brain cells so small that thousands of them could fit into the period at the end of this sentence. You accomplish all of this in less time than it takes you to blink. Indeed, you have just done it. What’s equally incredible, given our intimate association with it, is this: Most of us have no idea how our brain works.

12 Brain Rules
My goal is to introduce you to 12 things we know about how the brain works. I call these Brain Rules. For each rule, I present the science, introduce you to the researchers behind it, and then offer ideas for how the rule might apply to our daily lives, especially at work and school. The brain is complex, and I am taking only slivers of information from each subjectnot comprehensive but, I hope, accessible.

Here is a sampling of the ideas you’ll encounter:

We are not used to sitting at a desk for eight hours a day. From an evolutionary perspective, our brains developed while we walked or ran as many as 12 miles a day. The brain still craves this experience. That’s why exercise boosts brain power (Brain Rule #2) in sedentary populations like our own. Exercisers outperform couch potatoes in long-term memory, reasoning, attention, and problem solving tasks.

As you no doubt have noticed if you’ve ever sat through a typical PowerPoint presentation, people don’t pay attention to boring things (Brain Rule #6). You’ve got seconds to grab someone’s attention and only 10 minutes to keep it. At 9 minutes and 59 seconds, you must do something to regain attention and restart the clocksomething emotional and relevant. Also, the brain needs a break. That’s why I use stories in this book to make many of my points.

Ever feel tired about three o’clock in the afternoon? That’s because your brain really wants to take a nap. You might be more productive if you did. In one study, a 26-minute nap improved NASA pilots’ performance by 34 percent. And whether you get enough rest at night affects your mental agility the next day. Sleep well, think well (Brain Rule #3).

We’ll meet a man who can remember everything he reads after seeing the words just once. Most of us do more forgetting than remembering, of course, and that’s why we must repeat to remember (Brain Rule #7). When you understand the brain’s rules for memory, you’ll see why I want to destroy the notion of homework.

We’ll find out why the terrible twos only look like active rebellion but actually are a child’s powerful urge to explore. Babies may not have a lot of knowledge about the world, but they know a whole lot about how to get it. We are powerful and natural explorers (Brain Rule #12). This never leaves us, despite the artificial environments we’ve built for ourselves.

What we know about the brain comes from biologists who study brain tissues, experimental psychologists who study behavior, cognitive neuroscientists who study how the first relates to the second, and evolutionary biologists. Though we know precious little about how the brain works, our evolutionary history tells us this: The brain appears to be designed to (1) solve problems (2) related to surviving (3) in an unstable outdoor environment, and (4) to do so in nearly constant motion. I call this the brain’s performance envelope. Each subject in this bookexercise, sleep, stress, wiring, attention, memory, sensory integration, vision, music, gender, and explorationrelates to this performance envelope. We were in motion, getting lots of exercise. Environmental instability led to the extremely flexible way our brains are wired, allowing us to solve problems through exploration. To survive in the great outdoors, we
needed to learn from our mistakes. That meant paying attention to certain things at the expense of others, and it meant creating memories in a particular way. 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.

Because we don’t fully understand how our brains work, we do dumb things. We try to talk on our cell phones and drive at the same time, even though it is literally impossible for our brains to multitask when it comes to paying attention. We have created high-stress office environments, even though a stressed brain is significantly less productive than a non-stressed brain. Our schools are designed so that most real learning has to occur at home. Taken together, what do the studies in this book show? Mostly this: If you wanted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a classroom. If you wanted to create a business environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design something like a cubicle. And if you wanted to change things, you might have to tear down both and start over.

Blame it on the fact that brain scientists rarely have a conversation with teachers and business professionals, education majors and accountants, superintendents and CEOs. Unless you have the Journal of Neuroscience sitting on your coffee table, you’re out of the loop.

This book is meant to get you into the loop.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00JNYEXAM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pear Press; Second edition (April 22, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 22, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 766 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 306 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #195,730 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #120 in Neuroscience (Kindle Store)
- #255 in Survival & Emergency Preparedness
- #364 in Medical Cognitive Psychology

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John Medina

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John Medina, author of the New York Times bestseller "Brain Rules" and the national bestseller "Brain Rules for Baby," is a developmental molecular biologist and research consultant. He is an affiliate professor of bioegineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

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Brandy Roberts

Unveiling the Marvels of the Mind: My Journey with "Brain Rules" by John Medina

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2024

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Prepare to embark on an exhilarating journey through the inner workings of the brain with "Brain Rules" by John Medina. As someone utterly captivated by the mysteries of our gray matter, diving into this book felt like unlocking a treasure trove of knowledge and insights that I never knew I needed.

What truly sets "Brain Rules" apart is Medina's knack for making neuroscience not only comprehensible but downright captivating. With his engaging storytelling and relatable anecdotes, he transforms daunting scientific concepts into riveting narratives that you'll find yourself eagerly devouring, page after page. It's like having a fascinating conversation with a brilliant friend who happens to be a neuroscientist.

But beyond the sheer fascination, "Brain Rules" offers something even more valuable: practical wisdom that you can apply to your everyday life. Whether it's discovering the transformative power of exercise on cognition or understanding how stress impacts our ability to learn, Medina arms you with actionable insights that can truly make a difference. Suddenly, those sluggish mornings or moments of mental fog start to make sense, and you feel empowered to take charge of your cognitive well-being.

What I love most about "Brain Rules" is its heartfelt emphasis on the human element. Through Medina's anecdotes and reflections, you get a glimpse into the profound impact that understanding our brains can have on how we navigate the world around us. From fostering curiosity to nurturing emotional stability, these are not just academic pursuits but fundamental aspects of what it means to be human.

In the end, "Brain Rules" isn't just a book; it's a journey of self-discovery and wonder. It's about unlocking the potential of your mind, embracing your innate curiosity, and finding joy in the intricate dance of neurons firing. So, if you're ready to embark on a voyage of exploration into the depths of your own consciousness, I wholeheartedly recommend joining Dr. Medina's expedition through "Brain Rules." Your brain—and your soul—will thank you for it.

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Amazon Customer

Great Book - Worth the Time to Read

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2022

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Brain Rules by John Medina attempts to systematically define the limits of the human brain, thereby creating a foundation for understanding ourselves as well as our potential to learn, grow, and adapt. In the book’s twelve chapters, he guides us through twelve “rules,” each one scientifically based and backed with ample research. It’s true that some of his early chapters introduced ideas about the brain that were familiar: most notably that our brains evolved and are wired differently, and that stress and sleep deprivation negatively impact brain function. However, his insight on exercise, vision, memory, music, and gender provided plenty of insight to consider.

I recognize in Medina’s research and writing a willingness to accept distinctions and variations outside of science. For example, his comments on sleep as well as stress acknowledge outliers that defy patterns in science. How much sleep does each person need? It depends. How much stress produces behavioral and neurological changes? It depends. With each topic of consideration, he seems aware of the beauty of individuality, which makes each human unique. The fact that he preserves this wonder at how humanity functions is nice in a scientific paradigm.

Further, Medina concludes his book with a chapter on “Exploration,” a simply fantastic invitation to engage in the process of learning, reminding us of our own journey through his prose. The book concludes by reminding us of the necessity of curiosity. To be curious and to create environments that prioritize the brain (and its functions) should be the highest goal of educators and business leaders: a laudable goal, indeed.

I applaud Medina’s ability to make the neuroscience coherent and readable, as well as practical. Additionally, I appreciate the implications for both business and education, both spheres of influence that could benefit from reconsideration of modern practices and norms.

2 people found this helpful

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Jake

A Good Read Over and Over

Reviewed in Canada on November 5, 2023

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There is so much good information in this book and it’s written for people who aren’t doctors. All the examples used throughout the book are relatable. The structure of writing is easy to follow and engaging throughout.

Amazon Kunde

Sehr gutes Buch!

Reviewed in Germany on August 18, 2022

Verified Purchase

Der Schreibstil gefällt mir sehr. Das Buch ist klar und strukturiert aufgebaut und es liefert einige hilfreiche Informationen über das Gehirn, dessen Funktionsweise und über allgemeines Lernverhalten.

Der Autor hat dabei einen angenehmen Stil und auch das englisch ist leicht zu verstehen. Klare Kaufempfehlung!

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Sandy D..

Buen libro.

Reviewed in Mexico on November 4, 2020

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Muy bueno, entretenido. Te enseña muchas cosas sobre la mente.

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Ana

Gran libro

Reviewed in Spain on July 20, 2020

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Libro MUY interesante, bien ordenado y lleno de información sobre el cerebro. Referencia un sinfín de estudios científicos, de manera muy amena, y al final de cada capítulo el autor termina con interesantes reflexiones.
Lo recomiendo. Cada vez cuesta más encontrar este tipo de libros, con numerosas referencias científicas en lugar de con 4 ideas repetitivas de un par de autores...

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Md Anzar Alam

Every principle try to must applied yourself.

Reviewed in India on November 12, 2019

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This is best book for students, workers & businessman ,if you improve performance yourself first must applied books example, though & practice ( action). I already ready this book. I try to improve myself 😊.
Thank you sir #JOHN MEDINA .
Love from India.

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