Josh Waitzkin
wow, i imagined this guy to look more like a dork. not a lot like one, but less like this guy who looks like a nyc street hustler/The Matrix star.
this guy has been teaching me chess for the last few months and although it's been fun learning chess, it's been just as interesting learning about this josh waitzkin. his explanations of things tells a lot about him. and i like everything i've learned. but then he also gives courses in the psychology of chess, the downward spiral and transitional phases, etc. that relate chess to life, too, and talks all about his experiences with philosophy and eastern religions and there are essays that he writes that i read that are all part of the xbox 'game.' i admire this guy a lot.
but anyway, getting from average to good at chess is much like scoring average to genius on an IQ test. you just have to know what to look for.
it feels like cheating, and takes away the sense of pride you imagined you'd have if you ever got or scored that much better. there's little pride to get out of learning and having knowledge. deducing and anticipating and relating and assuming. when you are right in these things - then you can smile to yourself.
and hard work too i guess. don't forget about hard work i guess.
this guy has been teaching me chess for the last few months and although it's been fun learning chess, it's been just as interesting learning about this josh waitzkin. his explanations of things tells a lot about him. and i like everything i've learned. but then he also gives courses in the psychology of chess, the downward spiral and transitional phases, etc. that relate chess to life, too, and talks all about his experiences with philosophy and eastern religions and there are essays that he writes that i read that are all part of the xbox 'game.' i admire this guy a lot.
but anyway, getting from average to good at chess is much like scoring average to genius on an IQ test. you just have to know what to look for.
it feels like cheating, and takes away the sense of pride you imagined you'd have if you ever got or scored that much better. there's little pride to get out of learning and having knowledge. deducing and anticipating and relating and assuming. when you are right in these things - then you can smile to yourself.
and hard work too i guess. don't forget about hard work i guess.
on a whim, chad was marco @ 3:07 PM
3 $BlogItemCommentCount$:
At 9:09 AM,
ClickNathan said…
So you're saying that learning to be the master is not as satisfying as being the master from the beginning? That a Kerouac is not as potent as a Beethoven?
I can't be sure of such things. All I know is that some things are born inside of you and over time you only lose your prowess for them (such as the angst and drive of an idealistic youth) and others need to be nurtured and worked at in order to see them through to fruition (like a good beard).
At 1:57 PM,
chad was marco said…
i don't know that i was saying that, about kerouac and beethoven, but maybe kerouac became a writer by learning and hard work, but what made him so good and poetic were his jumps, instincts, that which he risked beyond just writing. or not. i just make everything up. based on other knowledge. heh.
and, as a p.s., couldn't there be some way so that i, as the logged in owner of this blog, shouldn't have to word verify?
At 2:08 PM,
chad was marco said…
oh, and as a second, bonus comment, as i was reading waitzkin's account, he mentioned his days in europe, meditating and reading kerouac. found that coincidental.
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