‘The Art of Learning’ from a chess and martial arts master
Written on September 16, 2008
The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance by Josh Waitzkin offers an unusual look into the mind of a chess champion who went on to master Tai Chi Push Hands form. Waitzkin realized that what he is really best at is learning, and this book is his attempt to lay out a systematic methodology for learning. He exemplifies the incremental approach to intelligence described by Carol Dweck in Mindset and other books. (Dweck is discussed in Chapter 3 of this book.)
Here are a couple of excerpts from The Art of Learning:
In every discipline, the ability to be clearheaded, present, cool under fire is much of what separates the best from the mediocre….
While more subtle, this issue is perhaps even more critical in solitary pursuits such as writing, painting, scholarly thinking or learning. In the absence of continual external reinforcement, we must be our own monitor, and quality of presence is often the best gauge. We cannot expect to touch excellence if “going through the motions” is the norm of our lives. On the other hand, if deep, fluid presence becomes second nature, then life, art, and learning take on a richness that will continually surprise and delight. Those who excel are those who maximize each moment’s creative potential — for these masters of living, presence to the day-to-day learning process is akin to that purity of focus others dream of achieving in rare climactic moments when everything is on the line. (p. 172)
…Three steps [are] critical to resilient, self-sufficient performance. First we learn to flow with distraction, like that blade of grass bending to the wind. Then we learn to use distraction, inspiring ourselves with what initially would have thrown us off our games. Finally we learn to re-create the inspiring settings internally. (p. 200)
Filed in: psychology.
