Introduction Have you ever been envious of people who seem to have no end of clever ideas, who are able to think quickly in any situation, or who seem to have flawless memories? Could it be that they're just born smarter or quicker than the rest of us? Or are there some secrets that they might know that we don't? If - You seem to forget important things - You have good ideas but they come too late - You'd like to be better at solving problems - You wish you could communicate better - You'd like to be better at tuning out distractions - You admire creative people and want to be more creative yourself - You'd give anything to have a better overall approach to life's challenges, then this book is for you. In it you will learn how the brain works in general, the styles related to thinking, your own personal style, and how you might train your brain to think better. Our brains have vast potential - you may have heard that we only use about 5% of our brains. That's true. But there are techniques we can use to maximize our brain power. By the end of this book, you'll know a lot more about how to maximize your thinking and even your life. Our Brains and How They Work No doubt about it, our brains are pretty magnificent. Talk about multitasking! We all do it - watch television, read a magazine, realize how great the evening meal smells in the kitchen, listen to the person in the room with us, and be excited about plans for the weekend - all at the same time. We can do this because of our brain's ability to make all kinds of connections. Our brains have developed over thousands of years. Their basic construction can be divided into three parts: 1. Primitive brain - this region of the brain is about the size of an apricot and controls our basic functions like blood circulation, reading, and indigestion. It also controls our "fight or flight" response to danger, and decides whether we will stay and fight or run away. It's also believed that when we are in stressful situations, the other parts of our brain shut down and leave everything up to the primitive brain, which is why we might find it more difficult to think clearly when we are stressed. 2. Cerebellum - this part of the brain is called the mammalian brain. It surrounds the primitive brain and processes our emotions and long- term memories. It also processes information learned through our senses. 3. Cerebral cortex - this covers the primitive brain and the cerebellum and makes up about 80% of our brain area. It determines language, thought, reasoning, complex movement patterns, and other things like appreciation of poetry and music. In addition to these three parts of the brain, we all have millions of brain cells called neurons. Each neuron has its own special function. Neurons use electrical impulses and chemical reactions to and from the central nervous system and within the brain. Neurons store information and work together in groups to generate actions and reactions and control specific thoughts. Each neuron has the potential for one million billion connections with other neurons. So, even though we only use 5% of our brain capacity, you can see that there is still an enormous amount of activity in our brains. Left and Right Brain Hemispheres You may have heard the terms left brain and right brain. It wasn't until the 1960s that a scientist named Roger Sperry discovered that different activities are associated with different sides of the brain, thus the term left brain and right brain thinking was coined. The left side of our brain is the logical side, the mathematical side. It deals with details and organization, and controls our speech and our language. The right side of our brain operates in a less organized way. It handles creativity, interpretation, emotions, imagination, intuition, and spatial awareness. At one time, scientists thought that these two halves of the brain operated completely independently of each other, but more recent thinking believes that there is some flexibility so that different parts of the brain can learn new functions. We all have five senses. Recent evidence shows that the more you are able to use your senses, the better your memory and thinking ability will be. The five senses are sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. Our brain interprets the information from the senses to help us act and react and stay out of danger. It's interesting that, although we all have the same five senses, because of our individual perceptions, we often don't agree on what our senses are telling us. For instance, how many times have you been in a room where it's too hot for you but too cold for someone else? Or vice versa? How many times have you and someone standing next to you disagreed about what you saw when you were looking at exactly the same thing? How many times have you liked the taste of a new food, but your partner has the opposite reaction? This is all due to our individual perceptions of sensual information. The brain controls every area of our body. It starts as an electrical burst of activity in the cerebral cortex and moves to the motor cortex, which sends out nerve signals to specific parts of the body. The signals then move down the spinal cord, along the motor nerves, to the muscles. The signals go to every part of our body and control every action. More complex activities that need body parts with finer control, such as fingers or lips, have bigger areas of the motor cortex. The brain is beginning to seem like a complicated place, isn’t it, but we are just getting started.

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