Your brain / [by Matthew MacDonald].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

MacDonald, Matthew.

Series:

Missing manual

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Brain.

Mental discipline.

Mental efficiency.

Thought and thinking.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (280 p.)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Sebastopol, California : O'Reilly Media, [2008]

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Puzzles and brain twisters to keep your mind sharp and your memory intact are all the rage today. More and more people -- Baby Boomers and information workers in particular -- are becoming concerned about their gray matter's ability to function, and with good reason. As this sensible and entertaining guide points out, your brain is easily your most important possession. It deserves proper upkeep. Your Brain: The Missing Manual is a practical look at how to get the most out of your brain -- not just how the brain works, but how you can use it more effectiv

Contents:

Your Brain: The Missing Manual; About the Creative Team; Acknowledgements; The Missing Manual Series; Introduction; Separating Truth from Speculation; About MissingManuals.com; Safari® Books Online; I. Warming Up; The Brain: An Archeological Site; The Middle Ground; The Basement; The History of the Brain; Ancient Brain, Modern World; The Brain&s Wiring; Synapses; The Nervous System; The Endocrine System; The Pituitary Gland; Mental Fitness; 2. Brain Food: Healthy Eating; Brain Fuel; The Sugar Rush Myth; Complex Carbohydrates: The Ultimate Time-Release Pill; A Brain-Friendly Diet; Meal Timing

The Secret Gears of AppetiteYour Anti-Starvation System; The Set Point Trap; Emotional Eating; 3. Sleep: Taking Your Brain Offline; The Perfect Day: 24 or 25 Hours?; Why We Sleep; Sleep in Humans; Long-Term Sleep Deprivation; Short-Term Sleep Deprivation; The Sleep Cycle; REM Sleep; How Sleep Manages Emotions; Dream Analysis; Keeping a Dream Journal; II. Exploring Your Brain; Optical Illusions; Your Shifty Eyes; Distortions and Mismeasurements; Color Confusion; The 3-D World; Seeing Things; Ignoring Things; Other Perception-Distorting Assumptions

Dizzy Yourself Silly with Optical Illusions on the Web5. Memory; Short-Term Memory; Long-Term Memory; The Man Who Couldn&t Remember; The Reconstruction of Remembering; People incorporate new ""information"" into old memories.; People remember ""facts"" more readily than sources; Rehearsal turns suggestions into memories; Memories are influenced by mood; People distort memories to fit the concepts they know; Easier to understand means easier to remember; Why We Forget; The Man Who Couldn&t Forget; Techniques for Better Remembering; Repetition; The Method of Loci; Stories; Word Games; Codes

Indexing Memories with PegsJournals, Pictures, and Other Memory Aids; Gimmicks; Better Learning; 6. Emotions; What an Emotion Feels Like; How the Brain Assesses Emotions; Pleasure: The Reward System; Motivation; Cheating the Reward System; Fear: Avoiding Death; Emotional Memories; Stress; Conquering Stress; In Search of Happiness; How to Accept Your Happiness Set Point; Looking Forward and Looking Back; Responding to Good and Bad; 7. Reason; Common Sense; Conservatism; The Mere Exposure Effect; Grouping; Moral Calculus; Statistical Blunders; Selection Bias; Regression to the Mean; Probability

Random Events and Games of ChanceCritical Thinking; Overcoming Bias; Baloney Detection; Winning Arguments with Logical Fallacies; Attack the arguer instead of the argument; Argue from authority; Distort the opposing view; Shift the goalposts; Present a false choice; Criticize the consequences of a belief; Use circular logic; Problem Solving; Creative Thinking Tools; Solve the Opposite Problem; Prompt Ideas with SCAMPER; The Six Thinking Hats; 8. Your Personality; A Personality Test; Dissecting Your Personality; Accommodation; Conscientiousness; Neuroticism; Openness; The Personality Fit; Flow

III. Understanding Other People&s Brains

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780596154011

0596154011

9780596551827

0596551827

OCLC:

609841308