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Sep 15, 2011

Jihad rated it:

كتاب رائع، يبحث في العديد من أبحاث الدماغ ليخرج بـ 12 قانون، معرفتها تساعدك لكي تزيد كفائة الدماغ في العمل، المنزل، والمدرسة. يأتي بعدة فوائد وأمثلة وأبحاث تحت كل قانون.

القوانين هي (باختصار، الكتاب يفصل فيها طبعاً):
1-الرياضة:
التمارين الرياضية تقوي القدرات العقلية.

-أدمغتنا تحب أن تتحرك أجسامنا
- الرياضة تزيد نسبة تدفق الأوكسيجين للدماغ، ذلك يزيد نشاط المخ
- الرياضة تؤثر على عمل خلايا المخ. فهي تزيد وتسارع تكوينها، تساعدها على البقاء أكثر، وتجعلها أكث More...

4 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jun 21, 2008

Kent rated it:

I think I would give this book 3.5 stars if I could.

The book discusses "12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school." The real focus seems feels like how we can use this to improve schools.

The 12 rules are:
EXERCISE | Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.
SURVIVAL | Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too.
WIRING | Rule #3: Every brain is wired differently.
ATTENTION | Rule #4: We don't pay attention to boring things.
More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Mar 21, 2009

Sarah rated it:

Brain rules is really well organized. It's a very un-boring synthesis of current neuroscience research into very comprehensible terms. I only give it four stars because the author (openly) says that the educational implications of the findings are not clear.

Some major take-aways, along with my questions and ruminations:

Attention:
Emotional arousal helps the brain learn. Number of minutes a person can pay attention to presentation style information (a lecture) is the More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 28, 2010

Elizabeth rated it:

We participated in a research study led by this author last year, so I was curious to read this book. John Medina was an engaging and thought-provoking speaker, and this is an engaging and thought-provoking. It took a while to read because I had to stop and think after each section. It was relevant to teaching in many ways, but also to life in general.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 31, 2008

John rated it:

A very straightforward read on the latest advance in the understanding of how the brain works. A lot of the chapters draw from some of the accessible trade books on cognitive development. Stories from Deborah Tannen, Oliver Sachs, Howard Gardner, Steven Jay Gould, etc. add stories and examples to Medina's main structure of the book. The book is organized around 12 principles that Medina feels are necessary to a healthy brain (due to what Medina sees as evolutionary factors).
The first pri More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 11, 2008

Nathan rated it:

A solid attempt at making a practical (useful) book on how the brain works, aimed at everyday people. He focuses on memory and efficiency, and writes in an engaging style. As a long-time researcher in the field he has the science cred, and he explains it well. There's a website (brainrules.net I think) that goes with the book, and when the book is released for real (I got a galley) it'll come with a DVD.

My only complaint is that he's insufficiently scientific in the book. I wante More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 28, 2011

John rated it:

Finally finished “Brain Rules” by John Medina. Fascinating how simple habits can boost our brain power. Seemingly passive and low impact activities like exercise and sleeping enhance our thinking ability (we’ve all heard this before, but the author provides compelling explanations as to why this is the case).

There’s also an interesting discussion on multitasking (apparently it’s true you can do two things at once, just not as well as if you weren’t trying to multitask).

A we More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 03, 2009

Susan rated it:

This is a fabulous book I wish had been written before I started baby-making 30 years ago! It does confirm for me that I did a lot of things right as a parent, but I would have benefited as a mom from knowing things now clearly related by John Medina on when an infant is learning what much more precisely than I knew from observation and experience alone.

the information in this book is priceless for any parent and any person who intends to live life healthily, influence people posit More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2008

Aaron rated it:

This is short, enjoyable read about how we can apply brain science to our lives and society. The author writer in a breezy style. I wish there was more technical information here, but was satisfied that the author laid out tough standards for which research he chose to include in the book. He also wasn't afraid to point out where the science fell short.

He points out, rightly, that our workplaces and schools are designed in such a way that they actually starve the brain of learning op More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 08, 2008

Natalie rated it:

The content, when you can get to it, is interesting. But I find his writing style incredibly annoying -- full of anecdotes that don't really have a very tight connection to the content of the chapter. Then, midway thru the book, you learn that he finds that 10-minute chunks interspersed with anecdotes helps students pay attention in lecture. I totally accept that for an oral presentation. But in a written text, it's really annoying. I'm used to reading nonfiction that doesn't seem to be talking More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 06, 2009

Todd rated it:

Interesting book about the latest research about brain science and how it might apply to school, work, or life in general.

Dr. Medina does something very charming in the introduction -- he promises to only use research from peer-reviewed journals with results that have been duplicated in other laboratories. No "Mozart Effect" or "Left/Right Brain" crap here.

The book comes with a DVD that I didn't watch, because I prefer to learn by reading. For some reason More...

0 comments like

Nov 02, 2011

Samuel rated it:

I picked up this book for a dollar or two through one of Amazon's daily deals. I'm fascinated with the brain and all that scientists have been learning about it in recent years. This book delivered on interesting anecdotes and individual stories of brain abnormalities but was quite bland otherwise. In particular, the organizational structure of the book seemed awkward. Each chapter focuses on a brain rule, yet the take-aways were weak and felt forced if not overly obvious. For example, the More...

0 comments like

Oct 25, 2011

Jessica rated it:

This one was fascinating. I finally found out why it's possible to faint from shock! Your brain is so glucose-hungry that you can only use a very small percentage of it at a time, for the simple reason that you don't have enough glucose (or enough oxygen to break the glucose down, or the ability to get rid of the by-products of oxygen break-down fast enough) to fuel more than a small percentage. So if you see/learn something shocking, your brain tries to process too much at once, using too large More...

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Aug 17, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

I mostly enjoyed this book and think it has a lot of useful information. His deliberate use of anecdotes is particularly helpful to illustrate points and to keep the reader's attention. I did think the tone of the writing was uneven. He was clearly trying to simplify the information for a popular audience, and sometimes he went too far, shading over into patronizing when his metaphors or language got too self-consciously lowest-common-denominator (such as seriously using the word 'boogers.' We a More...

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May 17, 2011

Eric rated it:

What a disappointment. This book’s brain rules are merely what are already widely known by well-informed people, like how spaced repetition/reinforcement helps memory; sleep is crucial for cementing newly learned info; exercise is good for the brain; and so on. It has a total of almost 300 pages, which would have been unnecessary if the author had not included so much unnecessary info related to biology. After all, do we need to know the roles of dopamine to make use of the brain principles? As More...

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Mar 19, 2011

Michelle rated it:

As always, I need to declare my preference for fiction. That said, let me recommend this book. Author and molecular biologist, John Medina, does a great job capturing the reader with brain research, of all things. Clearly a subject that could lull the layperson into a comatose state, Medina follows his own advice in this text. Chapters are not overly long; each reading objective is clearly stated, and he reviews the salient items at the end of each chapter, with three or four bulleted items. To More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 24, 2010

Jonny99 rated it:

A brainy book about the thinking organ. John Medina’s ”12 principles” are a clever marketer or editor’s way of organizing the neurological literature that Medina reviews. Although the studies are interesting the results are far from stunning. Basically, get enough sleep and exercise and you will be fine. Also don’t worry about your child’s development too much, brains mature at markedly different rates. Thankfully, Medina avoids the Dr. Daniel Amen route of spending half the book trying to More...

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May 25, 2010

Lars rated it:

My sister and I both work with kids and have our own little book club where we read works that are related to learning, the brain, and child development. While she liked 'Brain Rules,' she critiqued for being 'pop.' I get that, but I really liked the book.

We read it after seeing Medina give an enthusiastic and inspiring presentation at the Learning and the Brain Conference several months ago in San Francisco. He's definitely a salesman type with his own shtick, but for me, it wo More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 06, 2010

Alisha rated it:

This was another assigned book I had to read for class, but this time it was Psychology. Again I state that when I'm required to read something for class, it doesn't end up being favorable because I was actually required to read it. Which is why I don't really review assigned readigns. But since I made a deal with myself to review every book I've read this year, here we are.

So, Brain Rules, is basically what is sounds like. 12 Brain Rules that are supposed to help you succeed. P More...

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Mar 23, 2010

Julieta rated it:

Much of Medina's work here is obvious but he does a good job of explaining the basic science of how the brain works. It's a good read for parents as it'll make them want to create the best possible environment for their children as well as for educators at any level as Medina explains the best possible learning situations you can create for your students.

For instance, chronic stress is just about the most horrible thing you can do to your brain.
A constant diet of adrenaline More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 27, 2009

Erik rated it:

Medina, the latest guru in popular neuroscience theory as it applies to human learning, has published one of the most succinct books to date on the subject. His twelve principles effortlessly detail the major scientific findings of how humans learn best by explaining them all in layman’s terms. Some of them are really no-brainers (ha!): getting exercise helps stimulate cognition (yet another reason that schools which eliminate recess at the elementary level are doomed to fail in their drive to i More...

0 comments like

May 09, 2009

Guy rated it:

A blend of anecdotes, brain science, and prescriptions for how to live and learn more effectively, this is a book that everyone should read, even though it is far from perfect. For me it was, for the most part, pitched at the right level -- neither too detailed nor too superficial -- providing overviews of the science that underpins many things we sort of know we should (or shouldn't) do, but don't really know why, and thus (in part) fail to do (or not do).

For example, we know tha More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 31, 2009

John rated it:

Brain Rules is one of the best books I've read in a long time. The author, John Medina, is a developmental molecular biologist (I think I got that right) that studies how the brain develops, and his passion for what he does rings throughout the book.

The concept is simple -- 12 rules about how your brain works that, since you can't change them, you need to understand and work with for maximum efficiency. From getting enough exercise and sleep to how infants brains are tuned into explo More...

1 comment like

Sep 08, 2011

June rated it:

I found this book thought-provoking. John Medina summarizes the results of the brain research that affects individual people and society.
The implications of his first chapter alone (Exercise) are important enough to make us all start a regular exercise program: Exercise greatly improves cognition in school-age children the biggest predictor of how well you will age. Your life-time risk for general dementia is cut in half if you participate in leisure-time physical activity, and aerob More...

0 comments like

Jan 12, 2010

Book rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jul 22, 2009

David rated it:

The author is a molecular biologist who has extensively studied human brain development. His research and writings (magazine column) over the years led to this attempt to describe aspects of brain function. He describes and expounds on twelve "rules" about intellect, thinking, memory, etc. They include things like the role of exercise and sleep in increasing brain power, how the brain might have evolved in pre-historic times, aspects of short-term and long-term memory, etc. A few of th More...

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Nov 17, 2011

Claudia rated it:

Wow -- where to begin? As a teacher I read the Brain Rules thinking of my students and my own practice. I learned some things I can control (one of the rules about how stress affects our brains -- lack of control hurts the most!) like giving kids choice and some control over what they do, to those I can't, including an eloquent discussion about the fact all brains develop at different rates, and expecting all children to read when WE decide it's appropriate is so wrong.

I loved his st More...

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Jan 27, 2011

Steve rated it:

This book is an interesting tour of neuroscience and how (we think) the brain works. The subtitle, "12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving..." is somewhat but not entirely applicable, as the "Rules" are often things out of your control (I still haven't figured out how the principle that "brains evolved" really can be applied by me at work). This book is not about 'things you can do to make your brain work better,' except in a few cases (get the right amount of sle More...

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Apr 27, 2009

Nancy rated it:

Everyone should read this book.

Medina provides a highly accessible discussion about "brain science." I will never take my brain function for granted again and have a much better understanding of why I think like I do.

Although I have heard dozens of times that not sleeping enough, not eating properly, not exercising all have extremely detrimental effects on thinking ability, this author explains the consequences in scientific detail.

Medina also More...

0 comments like

Feb 17, 2009

Dr Ted rated it:

I was disappointed by this book. If you want to read it check it out from the library. I sure wouldn't buy it. Or go to their website http://www.brainrules.net/

0 comments like (1 person liked it)