According to John Medina, business meetings should be held while walking on treadmills, multi-tasking doesn’t exist and our memories aren’t all they are made out to be.  Or so are the sorts of points put forth in his non-fiction book, Brain Rules.

Medina, a molecular biologist, shares 12 scientifically proven Rules about the brain, like for example, its inability to work under stress.  He then proposes ways to transform your way of life to get the most out of your mind’s many talents.

The fact that Medina manages to translate his scientific mush to everyday language is enough of a feat, considering the guy is a scientist and has written a number of other more maturely worded books.  Still, he manages it well, simply stating his research, proposing his ideas and making his suggestions–no dictionary needed.  This leaves the reader with more time to apply the Rules and less time trying to understand them.  Brain Rules is even laid out so that each chapter covers a specific Rule, with a page at the end of each chapter summarizing its memorable high points.

Who knew that the majority of our memories disappear within minutes?  Part of what makes Medina’s book so interesting is that the information he presents in it is new and little-known.  In addition, his ideas concerning how to reap the benefits of the Rules are creative and innovative; the kind of thing you can do while you’re bored in class one day, no problem.

The best part about Brain Rules, though, is that Medina recognizes that no healthy brain is superior to another.  He addresses that brains are wired differently, and that abusing your brain with say, lack of sleep will have long-term consequences, but never does he suggest that anyone’s intellect is above or below anyone else’s simply by way of what you were dealt.  This objectively leaves the decision to take advantage of the many gifts our brains can give us in our own hands.  Whether or not we choose to use them for all they’re worth–that’s our choice.