Men and women's brains work differently. Repetition is the mother of teaching

John Medina

Brain rules

12 Principles of Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School

Published by permission of BASIC BOOKS, an imprint of PEPSEUS BOOKS, INC. (USA) with the participation of the Alexander Korzhenevsky Agency (Russia)

All rights reserved. No part of the electronic version of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet or corporate networks, for private or public use without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Legal support for the publishing house is provided by the Vegas-Lex law firm.

This book is well complemented by:

Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Carol Dweck

Lee LeFever

Daniel Goleman

Dedicated to Joshua and Noah.

My dear boys, thank you for the constant reminder that age does not matter unless you are cheese

Introduction

Try multiplying the number 8,388,628 by 2 in your head. Can you calculate the result in a few seconds? And one young man is able to multiply such numbers by two 24 times within a few seconds. And give the correct result every time. Another can name exact time at any time, even if you wake him up at night. And one girl accurately determines the size of any object at a distance of six meters. Another six-year-old child paints such realistic and vivid paintings that they were even exhibited in a gallery on Madison Avenue. But none of them can be taught to tie their shoelaces. Their IQ is no higher than 50.

The brain is something amazing.

Your brain may not be as extraordinary as these kids', but it is still amazing. The human brain easily copes with the most sophisticated information transmission system on Earth, reading small black symbols on a canvas of bleached wood and understanding their meaning. To create this miracle, he sends an electrical impulse along hundreds of kilometers of wires to brain cells so tiny that thousands of them could fit into a single line. And all this happens so quickly that you don’t even have time to blink. By the way, you just did this. And the most incredible thing is that most people have no idea how the brain works.

This ignorance leads to strange consequences. We're trying to talk mobile phone and still drive a car, although the human brain is not designed to multitask when it comes to attention. We have created a stressful work environment in offices, but in such conditions, brain productivity decreases. System school education built in such a way that O Most of the learning process takes place at home. Perhaps this would be funny if it were not so harmful to humanity. Unfortunately, brain scientists rarely communicate with teachers, professional workers, the top of the education system, accountants and company executives. You have no information unless you read Neuroscience magazine over a cup of coffee.

This book is designed to get you up to speed.

12 rules of the brain

My goal is to tell you twelve facts about how the brain works. I call them brain rules and provide scientific evidence to back them up, as well as ideas for how each rule can be applied to your brain. Everyday life, especially at work and school. The brain is very complex, so I'm only providing a small portion of each aspect - not comprehensive, but hopefully accessible. On the pages of the book you will become familiar with the following ideas:

Let's start with the fact that it is not necessary to sit at a school desk for eight hours a day. From an evolutionary point of view, our brain developed through labor and traveling over 12 miles a day. The brain still strives for activity, although modern people, which includes us, lead a sedentary lifestyle. Physical activity stimulates brain function (). Physical exercise help people glued to the couch improve long-term memory, logical thinking, attention and ability to solve assigned tasks. I'm sure that after spending eight hours at work or school, everyone will benefit from it.

As you may have noticed in the example of a simple PowerPoint presentations, people don't pay attention to boring (). You only have a few seconds to get their attention and 10 minutes to keep it. After 9 minutes 59 seconds, you need to again attract their attention with something, and the timer will start counting down again - it should be something related to emotions. Plus, your brain needs a break. That's why in the book I use a large number of stories to get your point across.

Do you feel tired already at three o'clock in the afternoon? Apparently your brain wants to take a nap. And it would increase your productivity. One NASA study found that a 26-minute nap increased pilot performance by 34 percent. Sufficient night rest affects mental performance the next day. Good dream – good thinking ().

We will meet a person who, after reading two pages, is able to remember new information forever. Most of us forget more than we remember, so we need repetition to remember (). Once you learn the brain's rules for memory development, you'll understand why I'm against homework.

We will realize that children as young as two years old only appear to be rebels; in fact, they are driven by a thirst for exploration. Children do not have broad and deep knowledge about the world around them, but they know well how to acquire it. By nature, we are researchers (), and this quality will always be inherent in us, despite the artificial environment we have created.

Do not consider the ideas at the end of each chapter to be recommendations. They contain a call to test them in real conditions. I proceeded from what I do in life. My research involves studying mental disorders at the molecular level, but I am particularly interested in the relationship between the genome and behavior. B O most of its professional life I worked as a consultant; I was invited to participate in research projects, when the help of a molecular biologist with a similar specialization was required. I had the opportunity to observe endless attempts to study the dependence of mental activity on the set of chromosomes.

John Medina

Brain rules. What you and your children should know about the brain

John Medina

Brain rules

12 Principles of Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School

Published by permission of BASIC BOOKS, an imprint of PEPSEUS BOOKS, INC. (USA) with the participation of the Alexander Korzhenevsky Agency (Russia)

Legal support for the publishing house is provided by the Vegas-Lex law firm.

This book is well complemented by:

Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Carol Dweck

Lee LeFever

Daniel Goleman

Dedicated to Joshua and Noah.

My dear boys, thank you for the constant reminder that age does not matter unless you are cheese

Introduction

Try multiplying the number 8,388,628 by 2 in your head. Can you calculate the result in a few seconds? And one young man is able to multiply such numbers by two 24 times within a few seconds. And give the correct result every time. Another can tell the exact time at any moment, even if you wake him up at night. And one girl accurately determines the size of any object at a distance of six meters. Another six-year-old child paints such realistic and vivid paintings that they were even exhibited in a gallery on Madison Avenue. But none of them can be taught to tie their shoelaces. Their IQ is no higher than 50.

The brain is something amazing.

This ignorance leads to strange consequences. We try to talk on a cell phone and drive a car at the same time, although the human brain is not designed to multitask when it comes to attention. We have created a stressful work environment in offices, but in such conditions, brain productivity decreases. The school education system is designed in such a way that O Most of the learning process takes place at home. Perhaps this would be funny if it were not so harmful to humanity. Unfortunately, brain scientists rarely interact with teachers, professionals, educational leaders, accountants, and corporate executives. You have no information unless you read Neuroscience magazine over a cup of coffee.

This book is designed to get you up to speed.

12 rules of the brain

My goal is to tell you twelve facts about how the brain works. I call them brain rules and provide scientific evidence to back them up, as well as ideas for how each rule can be applied in everyday life, especially at work and school. The brain is very complex, so I'm only providing a small portion of each aspect - not comprehensive, but hopefully accessible. On the pages of the book you will become familiar with the following ideas:

Let's start with the fact that it is not necessary to sit at a school desk for eight hours a day. From an evolutionary point of view, our brain developed through labor and traveling over 12 miles a day. The brain still strives for activity, although modern people, like us, lead a sedentary lifestyle. Physical activity stimulates brain function (). Exercise helps people glued to the couch improve long-term memory, logical thinking, attention and problem-solving ability. I'm sure that after spending eight hours at work or school, everyone will benefit from it.

22.08.2018

Brain rules. What you and your children should know about the brain.

In the book Brain Rules the most collected full information about the features of brain functioning and are given practical recommendations to optimize its operation.

John Medina - About the author

John Medina - molecular evolutionary biologist who studies genes involved in brain development and genetics mental disorders. For most of his professional life he worked as a personal consultant in the field of scientific research, and began his activities by studying mental health employees in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Dr. Medina is the director of the Center for Applied Brain Science at Seattle Pacific University. He also heads the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Brain Rules - Book Review

Our brains were designed to walk 12 miles a day! To improve mental capacity- move. Physical activity supplies the brain with blood that delivers glucose for energy consumption and oxygen for cleansing toxic particles. It also stimulates the production of protein, which helps
creation neural connections.

Aerobic exercise twice a week reduces the risk of mental disorders halve and reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by 60 percent.

Rule No. 2. Survival: The human brain has also evolved

Our head contains not one, but three brains. One, inherited from our ancestors, is responsible for the natural functioning biological organism; the second controls emotions; and a third, located on top of the first two, like thin layer jelly, and makes us highly developed, intelligent beings.

When climate fluctuations destroyed food sources, ancient people moved from forests to savannas and, adapting to the changes, came to dominate the planet. By standing on two limbs (instead of four), ancient people freed up energy for brain development.

Symbolic thinking is a unique human gift. We developed this ability through the need to understand the intentions and motivations of other individuals, which allowed us to interact in groups.

Rule No. 3. Each person's brain has different electrical conductivity of neurons

What you do and learn throughout your life affects the shape and appearance of your brain—in other words, it changes its wiring. U different people different parts of the brain develop in varying degrees. Not even two people have the same information stored in the same places in their brains.

A person has many types of intelligence, most of which cannot be assessed using IQ tests.

Rule No. 4. We don't pay attention to boring things.

The attention centers in the brain can only focus on one object at a time. No multitasking!

We perceive logical connections and abstract concepts more easily than we remember details. Emotional excitement helps the brain learn. Audiences start to drift away after ten minutes of a lecture or presentation, but you can win them back with a hook that evokes strong emotions.

Rule #5: Short-term memory: repeat to remember.

Memory is characterized by four stages: remembering (or encoding), storing, recalling and forgetting. Information entering the brain is instantly divided
into fragments that are transferred for storage to various areas of the cerebral cortex. Most events that happen during learning are also remembered in the first few seconds of learning. The more thoroughly we encode information into memory at the very beginning, the better it is remembered. You can increase the chances of recall by reproducing the conditions under which the information first entered the brain.

Rule No. 6. Long-term memory: recall in order to repeat

Most information disappears from memory within a few minutes of perception, but that which survives this period will become consolidated over time.
Long-term memory is formed through a “dialogue” between the hippocampus and the cerebral cortex, which is subsequently interrupted - and this process takes
years. Memories are recorded in the cerebral cortex.

The brain gives us only an approximate picture of reality, as it mixes new knowledge with memories from the past and stores them as a single whole. Long-term memory can be made more reliable by introducing new information gradually and repeating it at regular intervals.

Rule No. 7. Good sleep - good thinking

The brain is constantly in a state of confrontation between cells and chemicals, which tend to send you to sleep, and the cells and chemicals that keep you awake.

The activity of brain neurons during sleep is extremely high and rhythmic - perhaps due to the reproduction of information received during the day.
The need for sleep and rest varies among people, but the need for a midday nap is common to everyone.

Lack of sleep negatively affects attention, the ability to perform purposeful activities, working memory, mood, logical thinking and even motor skills.

Rule #8: Stress negatively impacts the brain's ability to learn.

The body's defense system - the release of adrenaline and cortisone - is designed to trigger an immediate reaction to a serious but short-term threat to life. Chronic stress, such as an unfavorable home environment, has a devastating effect on a system designed for short-term response.

With chronic stress, adrenaline promotes the formation of scars in blood vessels, which can lead to heart attack or stroke, and cortisone destroys cells in the hippocampus, harming your ability to learn and remember.

Most severe stress causes a feeling of lack of control over the situation, that is, a feeling of helplessness. Nervous stress causes enormous harm to our society by impairing children's learning abilities and reducing the productivity of employees.

Rule #9: Sensory Integration: Engage More Senses

We perceive information about an event using our senses, translate it into electrical signals that are sent to certain parts of the brain so that it reconstructs the overall picture piece by piece.

When deciding how to combine signals, the brain relies partly on previous experience, so two people perceive the same event differently. Our senses work together - vision affects hearing, for example, etc. - therefore, we learn better when several senses are stimulated at the same time.

Smell has the ability to revive memories. Apparently, this happens because olfactory signals (nerve impulses) are analyzed in the area of the brain that is involved in the formation of emotions and motivation. And emotions, as we know, are closely related to memory.

Rule #10: Vision is more important than other sensory organs

Vision is more important than other senses; it consumes a good half of the brain’s resources. What we see is what the brain tells us to see, and the accuracy of the reproduced picture is far from 100 percent.

Analysis and processing of visual information occurs in stages. The retina of the eye accumulates light energy into short-term, movie-like information tracks. The visual cortex processes the received signals (some of its areas register movement, others - color, etc.) and combines them into a holistic representation. Visual information is better remembered and reproduced than printed text or spoken language.

Rule #11: Gender: Men and women have different brains.

Men have one X chromosome, and women have two, despite the fact that one of them is reserve. Genetically, women are more complex, since the active X chromosomes of cells are a set of maternal and paternal cells. Males receive X chromosomes from their mother, and the y chromosome contains less than 100 genes, while the x chromosome carries about 1,500 genes.

The structure and biochemical composition of the brains of men and women is different - for example, men have a larger amygdala, and they produce serotonin faster. However, it is unknown whether these differences are significant. Men and women respond differently to extreme stress, with women engaging the left hemisphere amygdala and remembering details of emotions. Men use the right hemisphere amygdala and perceive the essence of the problem.

Rule #12: Exploration: We are great explorers by nature.

Children show us how we learn: by not passively responding to environment, but by actively testing it through observation, hypothesis, testing and inference. Certain parts of the brain allow us to use scientific approach: The right prefrontal cortex looks for errors in hypotheses (“Saber-toothed tiger is not dangerous”), and the adjacent region tells you to change behavior (“Run!”).

Mirror neurons in the brain allow us to copy behavior. Parts of the adult brain remain as flexible as those of a child, so we can make neural connections and learn new things throughout our lives.

I present to your attention the book “Brain Rules: What You and Your Children Should Know About the Brain” by John Medina from the publishing house MYTH.

And one six-year-old child draws such realistic and vivid paintings that they were exhibited in a gallery? But each of them “can’t even tie their shoelaces.”

Why are some people active in old age and living vibrant lives? rich life, while others, on the contrary, live out their years devastated and have lost interest in life?

In connection with this issue, the description of Jack Lalanne's birthday was impressive: “Battling strong winds and currents, the man swam more than two kilometers to the Kings Bay Bridge, in tow he pulled seventy boats with passengers. This is how Jack Lalanne celebrated his birthday. Turned 70 years old."

Of course, I immediately wanted to know what the secret of such people was? And can any person become as extraordinary?

The book is written in a unique way. The author tried to talk as simply and figuratively as possible about the subtle processes occurring in our brain at the level of neuroanatomy. But the language is not always easy and understandable; sometimes paragraph after paragraph, more and more new terms are revealed. Therefore, this book is best in deep reading mode.

The book consists of 12 chapters, each of which is devoted to a specificrule-recommendations for more productive brain function and use of your capabilities. After each chapter, the author provides a short summary of the main points a certain rule- this greatly facilitates the understanding and memorization of complex information.

The author reveals the rules of the brain at 4 levels, revealing aspects such as:
- physiology of our brain,
- features of memory, thinking and perception,
- dreams about schools and training centers future based on the knowledge gained in result of research,
- illustrations from the lives of patients who influenced the most important discoveries in the field of neuroanatomy.

So, let's look at the brightest and interesting points books.

1. Physical exercise allow us to reduce the risk of brain diseases, relieve stress and depressive notes.

Exercise leads to improved problem-solving abilities, develops intelligence and improves memory and attention.

2. Different people different areas brains store the same information.

Also unique is the fact that any physical or intellectual stress affects the shape of our brain.

3. Considering memory, perception, thinking, the author gives detailed explanation why most people can't multitask. We touched on this issue in the book.

Interesting approach to teaching - 10 minute modules.

To improve the quality of learning, it is better to activate students' emotions. Under such conditions, memorization improves.

4. Features of memorization.

When certain information enters the brain, data encoding occurs; this is directly related to the ability to remember the information received. This process is carried out by transmitting electrical stimuli.

Thus, any information is encoded in a certain way. An interesting test to determine the type of encoding: semantic, phonemic, structural.

I remember an experiment that demonstrated that memorization improves when the conditions under which information was received are reproduced.

For example, a group of people listened to a lecture for 40 minutes during an underwater experiment. The quality of reproduction of what was heard was much better when the conditions under which the information entered the brain were recreated. Being in a different environment, people were able to reproduce 15% less data.

5. Features of long-term memory.
An interesting way for bilingual families to memorize languages: create a certain place in the house, for example, a room, where all family members speak only one language.

Also interesting was the idea that our memories change over the years.

We are better able to remember thanks to aromas (an experiment where during sleep the room was filled with the scent of roses).

6. Was very unusual Information about daytime sleep , How physiological need body. Such sleep promotes better memory and also increases productivity several times.

Thanks to sleep, neural connections are strengthened - memory and attention are improved.
And vice versa:

7. Chapter Eight on Stress and impact long-term stress very impressive on the body (thanks to this chapter, I was able to prepare a lecture on intellectual overload).

Please note that now Stress in our lives is measured not in seconds, but in hours, days, sometimes with “months of work turmoil, screaming teenagers and financial problems.”

These processes occur in the body as hormonal surges of adrenaline and cortisone. When such exposure is not short-term, but is chronic, these biochemical changes actually poison the body.

Thereby Stress isn't just bad for your brain, but also the entire body as a whole, the immune system is primarily under attack.

It is interesting to observe how different people react to stress, how family conflicts affect the abilities of children and adults.

People can be roughly divided into two groups: those prone to increased anxiety and resilient, even to serious stressful situations.

8. Several chapters are devoted to the issue how vision and hearing affect our perception of information and its memorization.

The idea of mirror neurons, which allow us to copy behavior, is interesting. They are actively used in dancing and sports.

9. Most interest Ask is revealed in the last chapter. Illustrating the difference between a man and a woman at the genetic level, the author presents the results of research in the field of differences in memory, attention, and thinking processes in representatives of different sexes.

And finally key point in the book is the answer to the question asked by the author at the beginning of the book: how to remain young and active in old age thinking person? This the ability to be as inquisitive as a child at any age.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the research carried out by foreign scientists in this area, in particular John Medina, has only now been published and adapted for the general public. Many discoveries in the field of neuroanatomy were made by our domestic scientists much earlier. This is very pleasing, because... the approach of our scientists is more multifaceted and broad-spectrum.

Enjoy reading!
You can read one of the book’s chapters for free on the website of the Mann, Ivanov and Ferber publishing house.
Buy a book on ozon.ru

Friends, please write below in the comments, are you familiar with the books of John Medina? What discoveries are the most significant and interesting for you?

See you soon!

Sincerely,
Alexandra Rudamanova,
internet trainer,
project Manager
"Quick Read- Lifestyle"

By what rules does the human brain function? How to use your brain, its power on full blast? Biologist John Medina formulated man. Use this article for self-improvement.

John Medina's book and the rules of the brain

John Medina in his book decided in accessible form tell managers about the main developments in the field of research of the human mind. He formulated 12 Key Principles of Brain Function.

All modern research The rules of how the brain works can be reduced to two statements.

First, if you create a learning environment that interferes as much as possible with the effective functioning of the brain, you will get something like modern classrooms.
Second: if you design a business work environment that is unfriendly to the brain, you will end up with something similar to a modern office.
There is only one way out: get rid of such organization of premises and start studying and working, following the 12 rules efficient work brain

Take a brief look at the 12 rules of how the brain works from the picture before continuing carefully. Interesting Facts from the book by John Medina.

12 rules for working your brain to its full potential

There are many myths and legends around the brain, I have already written, now in more detail about the rules of brain training and training of any person, regardless of his gender.

BRAIN RULE 1: Movement prolongs the life of your brain.

Although there is much debate about human evolution, one fact is accepted by paleoanthropologists around the world.

It can be formulated in three words: people moved a lot. On average per day ancient man covered more than 19 kilometers. And his brain developed not when he was idle, but when he worked. The brain still strives for activity, although modern people, like us, lead a sedentary lifestyle.

Helps people glued to the couch improve long-term memory, logical thinking, attention and problem-solving ability. Physical activity like candy for the cognitive system. A person can return to his athletic past. We just need movement. Scientists have found that it is enough to exercise twice a week. And daily twenty-minute walks will reduce the risk of an angina attack - one of the main causes of age-related disorders mental activity- by 57%.

Historical reference: Pythagoras taught his followers while walking along the shores of the Aegean Sea.

Put treadmill at slow speed, place a notepad next to you on the table - while running slowly, the right idea will come to your mind much faster than lying on the sofa. I have long noticed that the most best ideas for articles come to mind during my evening walks. I use the same rule of movement when I invite my Clients to take a walk during a psychotherapeutic session.

BRAIN RULE 2: The brain evolved along with humans

Man was able to go through a long evolutionary path, adapting to new conditions and thereby improving his brain.

Brain development goes through three main stages:

The first is the reptilian brain. This is the most ancient part of our brain, responsible for unconditioned reflexes, breathing, heartbeat, sleep, and awakening.
The second stage is the limbic brain. It is inherent in mammals and is responsible for everything related to survival: fighting, nutrition, reproduction, the ability to evade pursuers.
Stage three – thinking brain(neocortex), or cerebral cortex. It is unique to humans, makes up approximately 80% of the total mass of the brain matter and is responsible for processing information received from all senses. Only it allows us to think, make decisions, be creative, talk and, in general, be human.

Watch yours carefully mental state. My observations of Clients show that a strong body often reacts to prolonged exposure to stress with outbursts of not controlled anger (limbic brain), but weakened ones with apathy and depression (reptilian brain).

BRAIN RULE 3: The structure of the brain is individual

Even identical twins Having identical experiences, the neural “wiring” is different. This is explained by minor differences in the mechanism for processing incoming information. For example, if you watch a movie with someone, you will have different memories of it. This is the essence of one of the rules of the brain.

What you do and learn throughout your life affects the shape and appearance of your brain—in other words, it changes its wiring. Different parts of the brain develop to different degrees in different people. Not even two people have the same information stored in the same places in their brains.

Use this rule of brain function to remove the limiting belief that it is not for you or that you will never master this skill. You can simply achieve anything and learn anything with your own in my own way, unlike others.

BRAIN RULE 4: We focus on interesting things.

Scientists have discovered many factors that influence attention.

Four of them have the greatest practical potential: emotions, meaning, multitasking, and time constraints.

Emotions. When the brain perceives an emotionally charged event, dopamine begins to be produced. Since this hormone is great for helping memory process information, the brain receives a strong signal: “Remember this!” That's why emotional effects very useful for teachers, parents and leaders to use.
Meaning. Our brain is designed in such a way that we often remember only the essence of phenomena, missing out on the details. This should be used as much as possible. For example, in order to remember a large amount of information, you should not try to memorize all the details. It is important to concentrate on the meaning, try to find general patterns, link all the details into a logical system.
Multitasking is a myth. By its nature, the brain is able to consistently focus on only one activity at a time. Naturally, we are not talking about basic multitasking - we can walk and talk at the same time, the brain can control our heartbeat while reading. This refers to the brain's ability to concentrate.
Time frame. The brain needs breaks. We cannot perceive information continuously. Very often this rule is neglected by teachers, managers, and sellers. They try to give the interlocutor as much information as possible, forgetting that the brain can only concentrate attention for 10 minutes. Then he requires a pause and a “reboot”.

Use these 4 factors to learn and... Draw mnemonics and pictures, take plenty of breaks (by the way, it’s time to go and pour yourself some tea - you’ve been reading this article for more than 10 minutes), fill yourself with enthusiasm and work on one thing at a time.

…

BRAIN RULE 8: Stress prevents the brain from learning.

The hippocampus, the fortress of human memory, is studded with receptors like a spice ham, making it highly susceptible to stress signals. If the stress is not too strong, the brain works well, and its owner is even able to remember information better.

The reason for this lies in evolutionary development. It was life-threatening events that should be retained in memory. In difficult living conditions, everything happened at lightning speed, and only the fastest individuals that could remember this experience and accurately reproduce it at the required speed survived. This is confirmed by the results of scientific research: human brain instantly remembers experiences gained under stress and quickly reproduces them over time.
Data cited by Medina shows that chronic stress can provoke heart attacks, weakened immunity, and a decrease in the ability to learn and remember. This mental load is too costly for the economy. Analysts estimate that US companies lose about $200-300 billion annually due to employee stress.

Stress that never stops long time(constant pressure at work, tension in the family, conflicts at school) is an unnatural state for the body. The constant presence of adrenaline in the blood can lead to negative consequences. I have already written about them above. Don't run stressful situation- immediately, for example, to the author of this blog.

…

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