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Best way to improve your BG?

Posted By: David Rockwell
Date: Friday, 28 December 2007, at 12:17 a.m.

In Response To: Best way to improve your BG? (Chuck Bower)

There was a Scientific American article, "the expert mind" a little over a year ago which totally changed my approach to learning backgammon and other games. Jake wrote a piece about it in Gammon Village. The primary message of the article may be found in one paragraph:

"...what matters is not experience per se but "effortful study," which entails continually tackling challenges that lie just beyond one's competence. That is why it is possible for enthusiasts to spend tens of thousands of hours playing chess or golf or a musical instrument without ever advancing beyond the amateur level and why a properly trained student can overtake them in a relatively short time. It is interesting to note that time spent playing chess, even in tournaments, appears to contribute less than such study to a player's progress; the main training value of such games is to point up weaknesses for future study."

Tackle challenges that lie just beyond one's competence. I have showed this to many people who have received this advice as a statement of the obvious. But, it has worked magic for me in 2007. Chuck's post lists one excellent approach to advancement. There are others. I believe that the technique used is far less important than the drive to learn something new. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

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