Unfortunately, it has been a while since I posted a book review on the blog and that is mainly because I’ve spent so much time working on a variety of other projects. However, author John J. Medina might say otherwise – he might suggest that I’m not working out enough and thus, I’m not utilizing my brain to the fullest extent of its potential (and he’d probably be right).

Today’s entry focuses on an audiobook that I recently listened to called Brain Rules by John J. Medina. This is one of the few audiobooks that I’ve actually listened to and it was very enlightening. And since this was a book that I listened to and recommend, I thought that the best way I could show you why you should pick up a copy of Brain Rules is by using audio-visual techniques! With that in mind, below is an introduction to Medina’s Brain Rules as well as an interview that he did with a television station.

Before you watch those two video clips, though, I’d like to share with you one of the truths that I learned by listening to this book and that is that the concept of multitasking is a lie because multitasking is not possible. Now, I know there are some people out there who will read that sentence and say or think something like, “Yeah, maybe it’s not possible for you because you’re a dummy!” First of all, I’m smarter than you so eat it (just having some fun hear, my dear readers). Second, and more importantly, I felt the same way when I heard Dr. Medina say that multitasking was impossible.

However, Dr. Medina talks about how the idea that a person can focus his or her brain on a variety of active functions at a single time is ludicrous. He uses a great example of some kid who is working on a paper for school and then receives an instant message from a girlfriend. The rules required for addressing and writing the paper are much different than the rules required for addressing and writing the girlfriend. And while the kid might be able to minimize his paper and talk to the girlfriend for a few moments before bringing the paper back to his computer’s desktop and working on it again – for those few moments that he typed to his girlfriend, he hasn’t focused on the paper. Instead, he has switched his brain’s functions (and associated rules) very quickly from one task to another and probably didn’t achieve as great a success in either task as he could if he focused solely on it alone.

Think about it. Do you know people who think that they are masters of multitasking? I bet you do. And now think about it again – are those people really masters of multitasking or do they just “get by” after rapidly switching their focus from one task to another task to another task and on and on?

Interesting stuff. Anyway, enjoy the videos below.

Pretty interesting, huh? Here is Medina being interviewed by a new station. This video, in particular, is a great exposition on what you’ll find out by reading Brain Rules. The interviewer does a great job of extracting some crucial “brain” information from Dr. Medina and I think that you’ll enjoy this interview.

If you have a great interest in the way our bodies work and in the way our minds function, then I think you’ll really enjoy Brain Rules. If you’ve already read (or listened to) the book, I’d be interested in knowing what you thought about it and what you thought about Dr. Medina’s suggestions about the brain. Feel free to use the comment box to share your thoughts!