• Brain Rules

  • 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School
  • By: John J. Medina
  • Narrated by: John J. Medina
  • Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (1,981 ratings)

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Brain Rules  By  cover art

Brain Rules

By: John J. Medina
Narrated by: John J. Medina
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Publisher's summary

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?

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'll 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.

Visit brainrules.net/dvd to view videos mentioned in the book.

©2008 John J. Medina (P)2008 Pear Press

What listeners say about Brain Rules

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

repetitive, repetitive, repetitive

go to www.brainrules.com for an outline of this chapter... because.. the points are oh so complex... like .... sleep helps you remember better... and for a whole chapter ... stress make you remember less .... for a whole chapter ... and the breakthrough chapter .... men and women are different... I write this for my friends that love a good audible book ... and get to the point where you start skipping after 30 seconds of each chapter ... don't forget the breakthrough ... interesting things are easier to remember ...... ugh! another wasted credit!!

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77 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

I'll recommend this to my patients

I enjoyed the book and thought that it was written in an accessible and entertaining manner. The points are familiar and not surprising to those working in the field. However, I'm a psychologist and many of my patients are not aware of the extreme impact that lack of exercise, stress and sleep have on the brain and your ability to think.

I believe that this book was written with the intent to make work and school environments more human places - that support learning and creativity. Many people berate themselves because they simply feel like they don't measure up when it's really an environment that is bad for brains.

Medina has made an excellent case for changing the world for the better and I hope that teachers and managers take notice.

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63 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

This is not the text of the published book!

I was suspicious about a quote from an interview between Mike Wallace and Frank Lloyd at 6:10 of Chapter 2. It quotes Frank Lloyd Wright as saying to tear down St. Patrick's Cathedral. Hmm... I looked it up in the printed copy of the book by searching the text on Amazon and Google Books. It does not have that quote. In fact, the interview is very different. I check with other sources; the printed copy, not this audiobook, matches the actual interview. I listed for the next 2 minutes and found several more things that had changed. Some were facts, some were grammar. A date was changed, "like" was changed to "such as", etc. This audio book is apparently from a draft before it was fact-checked and grammar-checked. Misquoting Frank Lloyd Wright as saying to tear down St. Patrick's Cathedral might direclty relate to what the author is saying, but if the author has that wrong, what else is wrong in the rest of the book? Can the listeners trust this unfact-checked and unproofed draft of the book? I can't. I want accuracy over ease, so I guess I'll have to read the printed copy.

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51 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

My favorite book for students.

Sick of "how to" books, as an avid listener of audiobooks, I like well researched, well presented, compressed books that are narrated by the author. this one scores on all counts. as if they had audio rather then print in mind all along!

As an academic student I've long since been looking for someone to give me the gist of how to study, without patronizing tones and "you can do it" over piano music. Medina really gives you intuitive yet academic based understanding of what methods are best to help you study

This book has finally caused me to get off the computer and go excercise, for my brain's sake.

Thanks John!

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47 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book!

A very brainy book by an entertaining scientist. Throughly enjoyed listening to it and I have recommended it to at least 5 other friends.

Because of this book I am now walking 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes per day. When you listen to this book and understand how 30 minutes a day of walking can make a difference it makes an impression. It is amazing how more motivating it is to walk for your brain vs. your figure.

Bottom line - download Brain Rules and go for a walk, you will thank Dr. Medina in the morning.

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating and accessible

One of the few books on brain science that actually reveals interesting information without wandering into unnecessary technical details.

Furthermore, this book takes some stabs at practical applications without pretending to contain solutions to all of the world's problems.

The author narrates. I'd give him a B- for voice work.

Smart, practical, and interesting. One of my favorites this year.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

I am currently studying for a degree in psychology. I found this book very relevant. It's entertaining and relates scientific principles to everyday events making the information easy to digest and remember. The info. on the complimentary web page an extra bonus. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the mind at any level.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining and Educational

This author makes it fun to learn about the science of the brain! One of my best audible investments.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Important Connections

I am not into what the author calls "Brain Science," but I am interested in educational psychology. This book has provided the connections I need. The organization of the book is sound, making the points both memorable and valuable. He has a nice blend of technical jargon and pop language, enough so that (I believe) any novice with the motivation to learn about how the brain functions can learn. This book provides a great model for how scientific (both the hard sciences and social sciences) work can be translated to a larger audience. I actually enjoyed the narrator, he seemed to have emotion behind his voice that I was able to connect to.

My only complaint about the book was the last chapters. He went from what I believed to be fascinating ideas to "men are different from women", and "children are natural scientists." I can't help thinking he was pandering to his family. (I suppose is fine, I might do the same thing in my books) I am a huge fan of Tannen, but I think her work was really smashed into this book. I would suggest limiting the book to ten rules (Oh, and I would change the rules approach, a bit cliche for me) Other than that, so far it has been my favorite book on audible.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Somewhat interesting

Some chapters I found interesting, but some had way too many little stories that I didn't care for. He claims that would help you remember. It didn't for me.

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13 people found this helpful