Book Review: Brain Rules

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina (Seattle: Pear Press, 2008. 301 pp)

John Medina is a development molecular biologist and research consultant. He is an affiliate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University.

In Pursuit of Learning 

Can we, as human beings, learn better? We go through grade school, middle school, high school, college, perhaps even graduate work without ever questioning if we are learning optimally. As a person who seeks to learn continuously and realizing I won’t remember every piece of information imparted to me in my lifetime, Brain Rules offers almost magical solutions to apply my learning better in work and life on the whole.

Separated into 12 easy-to-remember principles about optimal brain function, Brain Rules explains complex issues in simple, relatable, and applicable ways. Medina culls research all across the field of brain science and translates the research into easily digestible chapters. Since Brain Rules attempts to popularize scientific research, the book won’t be for everyone. In particular, I imagine those in scientific fields related to brain research will find Medina’s writing much too simplistic.

But for the common reader, Medina’s prose is perfect. He translates complex ideas into simple notions the everyday man and woman can apply.

While the research behind the 12 principles of Brain Rules is interesting, the most fascinating part of the book, for me, surrounded the potential ways in which businesses and educators can take these principles and use them within their contexts.

Exercise for the Brain 

For example, science reminds us of the critical importance of exercise. While most understand the importance of physical activity on bodily health, many don’t recognize the effect of exercise on brain function.

“Business leaders already know that if employees exercised regularly, it would reduce health-care costs… But exercise also could boost the collective brain power of an organization” (26-27).

I have already found this principle undeniably useful. Whenever I get stuck in the brainstorming phase of a project, a quick run typically launches my creativity to higher levels.

Illustrations for the Brain 

Consider the importance of association. How often have you been in a lecture or a business presentation where you sit in front of an hour-long, text-based Powerpoint presentation? Assuming you’ve encountered one of these occurrences, do you remember anything from it? If you’re anything like me, probably not.

“If you are a student, whether in business or education, the events that happen the first time you are exposed to a given information stream play a disproportionately greater role in your ability to accurately retrieve it at a later date. If you are trying to get information across to someone, your ability to create a compelling introduction may be the most important single factor in the later success of your mission” (116).

Whether in academia or the boardroom, the introductory hook to your information matters significantly. Whether a story, a metaphor, a picture, or a song, an audience needs a hook in order to ignite memory retention. To just state facts is a failure to understand the best ways for your audience to remember.

Sleep for the Brain 

Photo by Scott Akerman 

Lastly, how often did you pull an all-nighter before a final exam? Did your last-second cramming help your grades? Brain research suggests a good night’s sleep helps your brain to retain information. Likewise, the mid-afternoon period when all of your employees are yawning is the least productive time during the day. Studies suggest a power nap contributes to productivity at a greater degree than powering through tiredness. Medina ponders,

“What if businesses and schools took seriously the existence of nap zones? No meetings or classes would ever be scheduled at the time when the process C and process S curves are flat-lined. No high-demand presentations and no critical exams would be assigned anywhere near the collision of these two curves” (167).

When you schedule exams or critical presentations/meetings for time periods where people function at their most tired state, you should expect sub-optimal results.

Simple Principles Worth Applying 

Now, all three of these examples might seem self-explanatory. I, for example, utilized the sleep-before-a-test strategy throughout my academic career without understanding the scientific benefits behind it.

But even if some of the Brain Rules principles seem self-explanatory, the bottom line remains static. Our society functions inefficiently. We make students sit in front of text-based presentations and then expect them to have a photographic memory for the test. We require our employees to sit in front of computer screens 8-10 hours a day and expect them to function at full brain capacity.

There’s room to reform business and education to become more efficient and productive. Brain Rules offers intriguing possibilities for creating a better system. If you are interested developing a better process for learning, you must read Brain Rules.

Verdict: 4.5 out of 5

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Posted by: Donovan Richards

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Book Review: Guitar Zero

Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning by Gary Marcus (New York: The Penguin Press, 2012. 274 pp).

Gary Marcus is a professor of psychology and the director of the Center for Language and Music at New York University, where he studies language and cognitive development. He is the author of Kluge: The Haphazard Evolution of the Human Mind, which was a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice.

I’m a Pretend Guitar Hero

I confess that I’ve spent countless hours playing the popular video game, Guitar Hero. Fostering the illusion that I, too, can be a guitar legend, it is no wonder why I, along with countless others, gravitate to the game. The popular television show, South Park, even based an episode off of the phenomena.  In the clip below, they hit the proverbial nail on the head.

Guitar Queer-O
Get More: SOUTH
PARKmore...

But, some, like author Gary Marcus, take Guitar Hero to the next level and actually pick up a real guitar as a result. Soon they find that playing a real guitar is nothing like pushing the plastic buttons on the video game.

Many get frustrated, and decide to give it up. Inspired by the game and his attempts to learn the instrument, Gary Marcus in Guitar Zero takes a scientific approach to learning to play music. Marcus ponders what it takes to become a musician, and what needs to occur for him to shred on the guitar like Van Halen.

“All my life I wanted to become musical, but I always assumed that I never had a chance. My ears are dodgy, my fingers too clumsy. I have no natural sense of rhythm and a lousy sense of pitch. I have always loved music but could never sing, let alone play an instrument; in school I came to believe that I was destined to be a spectator, rather than a participant, no matter how hard I tried” (1).

Practice Makes Perfect

It may seem obvious, but Marcus proposes that practice really does make a difference in the abilities of an aspiring musician. But, practice isn’t enough.

“[A] constant sense of self-evaluation, of focusing on one’s weaknesses rather than simply fooling around and playing to one’s strengths [is needed]. Studies show that practice aimed at remedying weaknesses is a better predictor of expertise than raw number of hours; playing for fun and repeating what you already know is not necessarily the same as efficiently reaching a new level. Most of the practice that most people do, most of the time, be it in the pursuit of learning the guitar or improving their golf game, yields almost no effect. Sooner or later, most learners reach a plateau, repeating what they already know rather than battling their weaknesses, at which point progress becomes slow” (12).

Marcus really proposes in the end that a musical mind only develops over years of intentional practice. One must form neural pathways over time, similar to the pathways that are needed to learn a language.

“To the degree that we ultimately become musical, it is because we have the capacity to slowly and laboriously tune broad ensembles of neural circuitry over time, through deliberate practice, and not because the circuitry of music is all there from the outset” (33).

Born or Made?

According to Marcus’ thinking, musicians aren’t born, but rather made. Marcus argues that while genetics certainly play a role, practice over a period of time allows musicians to become stars. And, for the adult learner, like Marcus, it’s never too late. If the goal is perfection, no matter the pursuit, it would no longer be of interest. Because, as Marcus states, the goal isn’t perfection, but rather pleasure. It is the pleasure that drives us, and perhaps the minor imperfections in each performance is what makes music so special. Marcus also spends time talking about the benefits of knowing music in regard to overall intelligence and IQ, but his main point is that music provides something that many things cannot: simple bliss. To him, and so many others, that is why music really matters.

As a music teacher, I’ve found the blissfulness of music to be true. Sure, I know the statistics on why music matters, why it helps brain development, why it helps you succeed more in life. But, we all know why music really is something special. It’s because music touches the soul, and because music simply brings out a part of us that makes us feel like we are caught in the throes of a religious experience.

“[M]aybe, just maybe, the art of reinvention and acquiring new skills can give us a sense of a life well lived” (201).

Anyone who has played Guitar Hero knows the bliss of accomplishing a song on a difficult level. Practice in that game makes perfect; practice in life makes perfect. If you’ve ever wanted to be better at something, or wonder if you could perform well as a musician, I think Guitar Zero is a wonderful read for you to endeavor upon. My only critique of the book is it could have been longer.

Verdict: 4.5 out of 5

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Posted by:  Andrew Jacobson

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