One of the first books that I read on the Kindle, which makes highlighting and saving information very easy. Medina, a molecular biologist, outlines 12 rules based on the anatomy and physiology of the brain that will help us lead healthier and more productive lives. Many of the current educational and business environments that we work in are absolutely counterproductive to the ways out brain works, and we must change them if we expect different results from ourselves, our classroom, our businesses.
Our brains evolved to solve problems related to solving problems quickly in an unstable environment. The ways that our brains perceive, encode, and store information are based on this highly mobile, flexible learning pattern based on exploration. The means, for example, that we must exercise frequently to keep the brain alert and healthy, that long term stress is absolutely destructive of our brain's ability to quickly adapt to situations, that we must get enough sleep--and naps--to give the brain time to digest, reorganize, and recover the information taken in during our waking hours. Multitasking is a myth that wastes our "attentional" energies; we learn much better through exploration than rote memory; audiences check out within 10 minutes of any presentation; vision trumps all other senses, but even then what we perceive is based on previous experiences, so that two different people have different experiences and interpretations of the same event.
I found Medina's ideas fascinating, even if a bit shallow or simplistic at times, but I wonder how realistically his ideas can be implemented. Certainly his ideas have important implications for education, and for business, but I don't see school districts or international corporations incorporating them any time soon.
Author: Medina, John
Date Published: 2008
Length: 301
electronic print
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