Product Description

Most people use less than 5 percent of their overall brain potential. A Brilliant Mind helps readers tap into the other 95 percent through the mental exercise of vocabulary building and memorization. With the exercises in this book, readers can improve test scores, increase IQ, memorize more information, communicate more effectively, and excel in work and interactions with other people. Developed from Dr. Minirth's vast experience as a psychiatrist, A Brilliant Mind contains dozens of word lists to memorize, a process that will not only increase vocabulary but also change and grow the brain itself. The book also reveals eight time-proven memory techniques, encourages Scripture memorization, and offers insights into language that will open new doors for any reader. A Brilliant Mind will be especially helpful to baby boomers looking for mental exercises to sharpen their minds and improve their memories.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #315048 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-01
• Released on: 2007-01-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From the Inside Flap
EXCERPT FROM CATALOG: Increasing brain power does not depend upon age, station in life, or intelligence; what matters is desire. No matter your age--seven, seventeen, fifty-seven, seventy-seven--you can exercise your mind. A desire to empower one's mental capacity, coupled with effective techniques of vocabulary recall, will lead most anyone to excel. Thomas Edison, thought by many to have the highest IQ in the last millennium, was dismissed from school because his teacher thought he did not have the intelligence to succeed academically. Albert Einstein could not read until he was seven and still was considered a slow learner in high school. Winston Churchill was last in his class in school but developed a remarkable vocabulary that led him to become one of the greatest orators of all time. If Edison, why not you? If Einstein, why not you? If Churchill, why not you? Your mental muscles can be developed as surely as your physical muscles. Most of us naturally use less than 5 percent of our overall brain potential. The development of the other 95 percent lies in our own hands. The brain can be tuned, developed, and improved. It is the most highly developed computer ever made, and yet the circuits and the cells must be sharpened until it becomes analogous to a highly tuned engine. By tuning your brain, you create innumerable new opportunities for growth, communication, and experience, and you save countless hours formerly spent retrieving information--hours that can now be spent in fruitful enterprise and relationships.

From the Back Cover
You can have a brilliant mind, greater intelligence, and an excellent command of language. All you need is a little exercise. Just as we can develop muscle cells through physical exercises, so can we develop brain cells and connections through mental exercises. In this book you will find time-proven techniques and exercises for building a more intelligent mind. Written by acclaimed psychiatrist Frank Minirth, it provides a way for you to increase your IQ memorize more information improve test scores communicate more effectively excel in the business world prevent cognitive decline Most people use less than 5 percent of their overall brain potential. No matter what your age, you can tap into the other 95 percent through the mental exercises contained in this book. Not only will your vocabulary and opportunities increase, but you will actually change and expand your brain to become more brilliant. Frank Minirth is president of the Minirth Clinic in Richardson, Texas, and one of only 122 doctors in America and Canada certified by the prestigious American Society of Clinic Psychopharmacology. He is the bestselling author of Happiness Is a Choice and can be heard weekly on both local and national radio.

About the Author
Frank Minirth is president of the Minirth Clinic in Richardson, Texas, and one of only 122 doctors in America and Canada certified by the prestigious American Society of Clinic Psychopharmacology. He is the bestselling author of Happiness Is a Choice and can be heard weekly on both local and national radio.

Customer Reviews

off and on read
This a a great book to keep in your pocket, makes those waiting minutes pass quickly. You never get tired of reading it.

The Legendary Frank Minirth M.D. Makes Big Promises
Neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, two terms that mean the brain can be molded and the brain can grow, are touted as evidence that increasing word power may improve intelligence. In what is ninety percent a book of vocabulary words and definitions, the introductory chapters of A Brilliant Mind make a case for how memorizing the word lists within will increase one's brainpower. Some anecdotal evidence is cited (historical persons attributing their fame and success to their vocabulary) as well as a few related academic studies (including ones that show that the nervous system can change over time based on experience). However, consider these two Q&A points:

Q: Have the word lists in this book been in any way empirically validated for improving intelligence?

A: Nope.

Q: Has there ever been a study where memorizing vocabulary has produced an increase in IQ?

A: No. None mentioned in this book, anyway.

Perhaps it is this lack of empirical support that persuaded Dr. Minirth to backpedal from the claims on the cover and make this vague promise at the end of chapter two, "My contention is that a brilliant mind--indeed, a healthy, peaceful mind--may be within reach for many." Notice the multiple qualifiers; stating `my contention' (my take on it), then equating brilliant with healthy/peaceful, then writing it `may' (or may not) be with in reach for many (but not all).

So, the `ways' in Minirth's book aren't really `proven' as the title suggests. However, for those wanting to expand their vocabulary, this book might be a good choice. In the end, even if your IQ stays the same, you should be able to impress your friends and colleagues by using some big words.

I recommend "A Brilliant Mind"
Just as our bodies need physical exercise to stay in top form, our brains must be exercised as well. "A Brilliant Mind" is a worthwhile book to purchase or borrow from the library. Read it daily to keep the mind focused; challenge yourself to learn a new & different way of doing something you already do. We do so many things by rote- mix it up to help your brain stretch. Try a recitation. Do a puzzle. For Baby Boomers out there, learn poetry, expand on something you learned in school. I keep this in my car & find plenty of downtime to use the book. I recommend.