Brain Rules (Updated and Expanded): 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School
Written by John Medina
Narrated by John Medina
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About this audiobook
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 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 forget—and 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 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 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 works—and how to get the most out of it.
John Medina
Dr John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist, has had a lifelong fascination with how the mind reacts to and organises information. He is the author of the internationally bestselling works Brain Rules, Brain Rules for Baby, and Brain Rules for Ageing Well. Medina is an affiliate professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
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Reviews for Brain Rules (Updated and Expanded)
682 ratings47 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An interesting basic overview of what we currently know about how the brain processes information and learns.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I learned about this book from Garr Reynolds' website. Medina's storytelling approach worked well for me & many of the principles are relevant to my work. Like some other reviewers, I'd like to know more about the science behind the stories.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wonderfully thorough and accessible! Medina presents complicated data and concepts in an engaging manner and supports his ideas with examples and stories designed to maximize recall. I loved reading this book and anticipate that I'll be referencing it often!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting, useful, practical.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An amazing book on the brain. The book is highly readable and interesting.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My advisor for grad school gave me this book as a graduation present. As a researcher, I have read about many of these studies but it was still interesting and engaging. I highly recommend it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An unusual book - not exactly pop science, not exactly self-help, not business, yet it has some of the flavor of all three. There is a companion web site, and at times you get the sense that this material would work better in a different format or combination of formats - and maybe that's what the web site helps accomplish. Since a couple of the "Rules" are "vision trumps all other senses" and "we don't pay attention to boring things", a book with no pictures seems a bit incongruous. And the rules are not prescriptive, but rather suggestive. Medina readily admits, maybe too readily, that almost all of these rules need more research. So, what are we to do with these rules. Maybe to do the "exploration" that is the basis of rule 12 and find out for ourselves.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I learned about this book from Garr Reynolds' website. Medina's storytelling approach worked well for me & many of the principles are relevant to my work. Like some other reviewers, I'd like to know more about the science behind the stories.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A very humorus read about our brains!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Although the brain often seems to be the most overlooked tool in trainer-teacher-learners' toolkits, great writers like developmental molecular biologist John Medina are doing a lot to move us past that that oversight through books like "Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School." Medina is never less than completely engaging, and his 12 rules about how the brain functions in learning are drawn from well-documented research, his own very funny observations, and his continual call for more research to help fill in the numerous gaps we still have in our knowledge: "This book is a call for research simply because we don't know enough to be prescriptive," he disarmingly admits (p. 4). Among the rules he documents: exercise boosts brain power; every brain is wired differently; stressed brains don't learn well; and stimulate more of the senses simultaneously to stimulate more effective learning. This is not a book for those comfortable with the status quo; in fact, Medina clearly expects us to approach his work with minds completely open to ideas that might initially strike us as ludicrous. And he encourages us to imagine (and create) learning spaces that inspire and sustain curiosity as opposed to the age-old model of lecture halls where learning is an instructor-centric endeavor.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excellent, down to earth way that we can make simple Life Hacks with discoveries regarding how the Brain works. Best tips are - exercise is crucial!! naps are important for creativity and high Brain functioning; teaching and probably also preaching should only last for 10min increments; and lastly what we smell while learning can greatly enhance our retention and learning speed. Medina's downside is he breaks down things so much that it lack an air of academic rigor. If Brain Rules could be combined with Brain Fix you'd have a masterpiece.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a great book. It combines brain science with evolution, how people learn and the stupidities of how we teach. It took me a long time to actually read, but in the process I gave two presentations on the basic principles and gifted the book to a couple of different people.
I think it is a good book to read for many reasons:
-understanding how your children are developing
-understanding how to approach people and how their brain affects their reaction
-understanding the basic way your brain works so that you can leverage that knowledge
etc.
The above, of course, assumes that what the book says is correct. I choose to think it is and think that the concepts it provides can be very useful in managing staff and working with people in general. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Brain Rules is an excellent overview of some key principles to optimize your brain's performance. Medina does a great job of mixing the science behind how your brain works with practical takeaways. While there is a lot of science discussed, Medina manages to present the information in a very engaging and easily digestible format.There are so many things we should be doing to optimize our cognitive abilities at work and in the classroom that are currently being ignored for the sake of tradition. The adjustments sometimes sound fairly radical (Medina proposes that companies should block out 1/2 hour each day for employees to nap for example) but they are also fairly simple to execute, and well supported by scientific evidence of their potential impact.This should be a must read for anyone in business or education.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Briliant. I use stuff from this every day (that I remember to). I read about half of this then left it for a while then read a chapter that I was most interested in then I re-read the whole.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is pure knowledge, refreshing, eye opening. 2thumbs up.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm delighted by this book. One of the best !
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book simply opens up the ideas to improve overall productivity. Simple aspects of life which have never been looked through the psychology mirror are explained in a layman language. Examples made the book more memorable as described in one of the brain rules as well.
On the improvement side, i would have enjoyed book more if mind physiology details were skipped. Also, implications could have covered more fields like engineering. A few mind tricks or exploration activities could also be added.
Overall, this book provides an excellent knowledge dive into brain’s ocean. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5very good book, I love it and learn a lot from all the chapters. thanks.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book offers a good and condensed overview of the things that we can do to improve our brains. It draws from a lot of scientific findings, work by other authors and the writer’s own life to create a solid list of 12 helpful rules to apply. There’s nothing new or ground breaking here, but that’s ok.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5it's an interesting read. I liked it. I think everyone should read it once to understand how our brain works.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Maybe all my teachers should read this, it's almost a practical guide about how we perceive things and learn about them. I want to read it again now.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 12 rules were great insights for me. I found the style of the author very accessible and easy going, although a little fast. I had to slow the play speed.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thoroughly enjoyable, illuminating well-read and deeply fascinating whilst also completely entertaining. Made my drive from Adelaide to Sydney feel a lot shorter!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Interesting views and fascinating results (presumably based on research) on the human brain. Thanks author.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Just a monolog abt how mind works. Nothing else. Author proves it with different experiments. Not to my liking.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Words truly kept out of the pages!
The author demonstrated unparalleled depth of understanding on every topic he touched. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I really enjoyed this book it was practical and I liked the tips it provided to assist with keeping your brain healthy and why we do certain things.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It is one of my favorite books! I love how things are explained, the atitude of the reader, new information that the book gives!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book. Highly recommend if you want to learn more about your brain.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A significant part of this book is new to me. The presentation method is clear and easy-to-understand so after listening, I can say that I have gained significant learning in that, I believe, I can apply in my day-to-day tasks and of those whom I hold dear.
Thank you, Scribd and Mr. Medina.