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!

Random Thoughts of the Day:

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time…

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

When I meet a new girl, I’m terrified of mentioning something she hasn’t already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

I would like to officially coin the phrase ‘catching the swine flu’ to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: “Dave caught the swine flu last night.”

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

By the way – if anyone really DOES know how to fold a fitted sheet, please let me know!

What bothers me the most about the cancellation of Kings is that it appears NBC is taking the easy way out of a show that could have really had some legs to it. NBC owns the USA Network, Bravo, SyFy, some Spanish channels, and any other number of channels that could have successfully aired this show. If any of you are Kings fans out there, would you have had a problem watching this show on SyFy or USA Network or Bravo? I think not.

In any event, when the DVD set is released on September 29, 2009, you can bet that I’ll be purchasing it. Although I was a little freaked out by the fact that there were too many “perfect” people on the show (not enough “regular” folks), I really did enjoy watching Kings and I believe that NBC could have found another platform on which to display this asset. If you’ve already clicked over and read the note from the creator of the show, then you can skip ahead. However, if you haven’t yet read that note, let me share a portion of it that I found very interesting:

— Some have speculated that the cost of the show was prohibitive. While it is true that the episode budget was high for a first season show, that number was reduced by the outstanding aggregate 30% tax benefit New York provided (which we all hope will remain in effect), thus bringing the cost down to rates comparable to other prime time dramas. And, of course, plans were already made to bring the costs down to whatever number the studio required of us in the future.

Isn’t that something? Kings was allowed to film in New York City and they even were given a 30% tax benefit for doing so. Sounds like some pretty good economic conditions if you ask me! Another piece of the note that I found interesting:

Your interest in show here is, to me, evidence enough of this. (As an interesting aside, Kings was #1 on iTunes on the day we were cancelled.)

How about that? On the day that NBC tossed this show, Kings was the top downloaded show on iTunes. That’s great! And yet…NBC cancels the show.

It would be great if Kings achieved the type of post-cancellation success that Family Guy or Futurama have both achieved (did you hear that Futurama was uncanceled a week or so ago?). That’s what I’m hoping for at least.

Aside from battling some annoying heartburn over the weekend (and for the last two weeks) and being very busy with websites and Foundation work, I’ve been doing great. More to come tomorrow…

In the mean time, check out New Jersey Carpet Cleaning for the best carpet cleaning in the Garden State!

E-mail inboxes are a pain in the ass. Sometimes I get into the office in the morning I don’t even open up my inbox for the first hour or two because you can get so bogged down in answering e-mails. The negative aspect of this, though, is that you get backed up with your messages like I was for the last few months. However, I spent a great deal of time before leaving for vacation just sitting behind the computer and answering all of the messages that were building up – from the mundane to the important.

The worst part about letting the messages build up, though, is that sometimes you have an important message that gets lost in the mix – I hate when that happens. Anyway, since this entry is rambling at this point I’ll wrap it up. I just wanted to say that I was glad to get my inbox cleared out. It’s like having a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders so I suggest that if you get a chance, you try to spend some time cleaning out your inboxes, too!