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Making the most of our brains
Wouldn't it be great if there was some sort of manual available that showed us how to maximize the use of our brains!
The good news is that there is now such a manual, and it comes in the form of an intriguing new book titled 'Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School'.
Just take another look at that title. It doesn’t talk about using your brain just to survive (as vital as that is in today's busy world). It also explicitly states about using your brain to thrive. And that's something that's definitely appealing to all of us!
I can guarantee that once you start reading this book that, like me, you won’t want to put it down until you've finished it.
And once you've reached the end of the book, you will be filled with awe at just how powerful your brain really is.
But more importantly, you will have been exposed to invaluable information that will teach you to maximize your use of brain.
For example, it is fully explained in the book that our senses have evolved to work together, with, for instance, our vision influencing our hearing. The importance of that fact is crucial to learning because it means that we can all learn better if we actively stimulate several of our senses at the same time.
The author of 'Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School' is John Medina.
John's official working title is that of a 'Developmental Molecular Biologist'. That's heady stuff indeed!
In addition, he also teaches in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington in the United States.
But don't let either of those academically oriented job descriptions put you off this amazing book.
What it really means is that, given his professional background, John is ideally suited to combining his theoretical knowledge of the brain with his ongoing and enthusiastic research into what our brains can accomplish in practical, every day ways.
John's sense of humor too comes through in the book.
The end result is a book that can be best described as not only being a good read but also a book which has the power to radically transform how you view and use your brain.
To give you an idea of what you can expect to find in the book, here are the titles of just five of the brain rules (an entire chapter is dedicated to each of the dozen rules presented in the book):
1. Exercise boosts brain power
2. Sleep well, think well
3. Stressed brains don’t learn the same way as non-stressed brains
4. Vision trumps all other senses
5. Male and female brains are different
And here is just a small sampling of the different sorts of stories that John uses to demonstrate the different points that he raises about our brains:
• An explanation of why the world famous basketball player, Michael Jordan, never achieved the same heights of stardom when he took up baseball.
• The existence of a Jennifer Aniston neuron (Aniston became a superstar due to her role in the Friends television series).
• A boy with an amazing memory for music but who can't tie his own shoes!
To help readers to remember the material that has been presented and discussed throughout the book, each of the book's chapters ends with a brief summary of the salient points about a different brain rule.
For example, for the brain rule 'Remember to repeat', it is stated in that particular chapter summary that the 'way to make long-term memory more reliable is to incorporate new information gradually and repeat it in timed intervals'.
There is another feature of the book that deserves a special mention. And that is the companion 'Brain Rules' DVD that comes with it.
When you play this DVD, you can watch as the book's author, John Medina, takes you through a lively tour of the twelve different brain rules.
The reason for bundling the DVD with the book is simple. It provides you with a 'brain friendly' film that will allow you to gain even greater understanding of the brain as you read through the book.
You can watch a trailer of the 'Brain Rules' DVD now on the companion site to the book – see below for the link to click to visit the site.
So don’t let the opportunity pass you by to find out more about your brain.
By reading 'Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School', you can discover such things as the best way to learn; how stress affects the functioning of our brains; why sleep is so important; why we forget things; and how the concept of using our brain to multi-task is, in fact, a myth.
For more information about 'Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School', or to purchase a copy of it online, head on over to the companion site to the book. To do so now, click here
Alternatively, you can order a copy of the book through your local bookstore if they don’t already stock one. To do so, quote either of the following ISBN numbers for the book:
• ISBN-10: 0-9797777-0-4
• ISBN-13: 978-0-9797777-0-7