Customer Reviews

The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Josh Waitzkin transformed himself from a warrior of the mind into a top-level tai chi martial arts practitioner. This is somewhat an unusual, as many/most chess players (with a few exceptions) appear to be pallid who would get sand kicked in their faces at the beach. (Too much library and study time, perhaps.)

You may recall that Josh Waitzkin was the main character in the best selling book and popular movie, "Searching for Bobby Fischer." As a chess prodigy, he received intense publicity and attention, which wore thin on him as he progressed into his late teens and early 20s. Even though he was a top level chess player, the pace of his progression did not advance to the point where he was challenging Garry Kasparov or anyone else for the world championship. Being under the microscope became tiring, so he shifted his focus into tai chi.

This book is an unusual and difficult one to categorize. It is part autobiography, part chess memoir, part martial arts philosophy. Essentially, Waitzkin offers his own approach to becoming a student and applying certain disciplines and habits toward learning and eventually mastering any skill. Your mileage may vary, but for a 29 year old, Waitzkin's insights seem mature beyond his years. It is almost unfair for a young person to be so accomplished and insightful, and I mean that as a complement.

In many ways, "The Art of Learning" reminded me of "Flow" by Mihaly Csiksentmihaly. Focusing on the task and hand in getting better at it rather than obsessing over results and outcomes can be a liberating experience, paving the way toward learning and eventual mastery.

Whether you are a chess player or martial arts practitioner, "The Art of Learning" is a very effective study in one approach to building your skills in any realm. The book could have benefited from both an index and bullet-point suggestions for the reader, but these are minor quibbles regarding what is an excellent book.

The Art of Learning as an autobiographical story makes for good reading. However, the book introduces itself, and seems to be marketed, as a practical guide for people interested in improving their own learning skills. I question how well the majority of people will be able to make much use of the book in that way.

Waitzkin's presentation and description of learning techniques is pretty vague. While I have little doubt that Josh Waitzkin is an accomplished learner, I don't think that he successfully, practically transmits what he knows about learning to the reader. It seems that he has an unusual capacity to learn, and while I don't think that that capacity is necessarily "genetic" or somehow hopelessly unavailable to those not blessed with it from birth or a very early age, I don't think that most people will improve their learning skills very much through Waitzkin's description of techniques that he may understand and be able to apply very easily, but which refer to and rely on processes and perceptions internal to him that can't, or at least aren't in this book, adequately conveyed through the written word. Though I think I may understand what "smaller circles" (one of the learning strategies Waitzkin outlines) means on some level, how to actually apply it to something I'm trying to learn is not clear to me (and the ideas behind it seem fairly cliche, like take one step at a time, you have to walk before you can run, etc.).

Though it could be argued that it's scope is more limited, for a book that provides more concrete methods for improving learning and performance, I'd recommend "The Inner Game of Tennis". I think in that book more people are going to find techniques that they can try out and from which they can make some real progress in learning tennis and in understanding how we learn. It can also be applied to endeavors other than tennis.

Read "The Art of Learning" for its interesting stories and to get a peek into the life and development of an uberachiever, but for a practical guide on improving your learning ability and acquiring new learning skills, look elsewhere.

I heard Josh interviewed on NPR recently. Before the show was completed I ordered his book; The Art of Learning. Having just finished my first reading, the pages are heavily highlighted and the margins are drenched in notes. This is a narrative too meaningful to miss, rich in the human experience. The application of his life experiences go beyond chess and martial arts. Josh's struggles and his victories may be on a different level than most but you will resonate with the humanity, as I did.
I have worked in critical care nursing for many years and the intensity can at times be overwhelming. This leads many to burn-out and leave the profession. The insights Josh provides in this book should be an integral part of nursing education. Concepts such as investment in loss, using adversity, and making sandals, are tools I now employ in the workplace challenges I face. I know these ideas could help others whether you are a nurse committed to healing, a business person closing a deal, or a parent raising a child.
Healing is invoking the will to live in others--Josh has done that for me in this work.

As an educator and Myers Briggs NT type, I found this book to be inspirational and insightful as it reinforced many of my own experiences with learning and teaching. Josh weaves the concepts together with his personal story in a very engaging manner. The stories illustrate the application of the learning principles quite well, in my opinion. The concepts are defined enough for my taste, while being flexible/loose enough for application to other fields of endeavor. I wish perhaps that he had spent more time talking about the hard work of showing up every day, but most people probably won't find that of interest since it's the peaks we all like to celebrate. And anyway, he does frequently reference the fact that it took an extreme commitment on his (and his partners') part to achieve his results.

Book-learners would probably profit greatly from the application of the principles in this book. I'm not so sure I could say whether other learning modes would benefit directly although I think the principles would still be present in some form or another.

On another level, Josh's book made me think a lot about how I reacted to situations in life where I expected more ethical/moral/considerate/professional/courteous behavior from others. And then I thought more about those times I was the, well-jerk...

Highly recommended for those who love to experience beyond the superficial.

Of course you know that Josh Waitzkin is a legendary chess champion and child prodigy, but I don't think that is his contribution to the world, this book is.

Let me explain.

Not discounting what Mr. Waitzkin has done in chess and the martial arts, his book breaks down exceptional human performance into actionable steps that virtually anyone who can read the book can take.

This is the the self deconstruction of the mind of a genius reconstructed so you can replicate his results, not an easy task.

Since I read this book, I've purchased and given away 20 copies to clients, friends and family so they can learn these powerful ideas and apply them to their own life. I simply can't remember being inspired as deeply to take the actions outlined in a book as I was by this one.

The theory of little circles alone is one of the most powerful ideas to come out of performance thinking yet. Learning how to discover and manipulate patterns is a wildly profitable skill when applied to business or to life.

Grab this book, you'll read it and then you'll go back to it many times.

Apply this book and you'll propel yourself to the top of your career, business and life.

Truly Transformational!

Dave Lakhani
Author
Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want
Power of An Hour: Business and Life Mastery in One Hour A Week

Josh eloquently escorts the reader through the process of becoming a champion. He is very candid in his demystification of how one becomes a master. In a very lively manner Josh describes the hard work, the setbacks, self examination, and the lessons which are the steps to mastery. "Kung Fu" is after all an accumulation of work which one puts in to practice. Josh's accounts are full of dedication and devotion to these discilpines and the love of the art and the creative process with which he soars after building his fundamentals. It's his love and enthusiasm that comes through on each page and makes this book so enjoyable. I would recommend this to anyone who is willing to work towards mastery of an art form or sport.
Michael Krubiner

Despite the most excellent title and a glowing quotation from Robert Pirsig, the book fails to deliver. This book is 95% biographical information about Mr. Waitzkin and only 5% about synthesizing these experiences into an approach for learning. And even that 5% is more for elite competitive kinds of disciplines. If you are pursuing excellence and creativity in science or language learning, this book will not help you. I give it two stars for some entertaining stories about the author's life.

I have actually met Josh Waitzkin, some years ago at the World Open Chess Tournament in Philadelphia. At the time I would guess him to be about 17. I was struck by his amazing PRESENCE, an uncanny ability to focus, and his legendary fighting skills. Even though by his biography he was already evidently dealing with the pressures of idolized adolescence, he was courteous, implacable, and "in the moment." Being a passionate tournament chessplayer, I was in awe of him, especially at a creativity that I could only guess at, as he was rated some 800 points above me, the equivalent of the Jolly Green Giant wrestling the Troll under the bridge.

One of my favorite movies of course is easy to guess: Searching for Bobby Fischer. It chronicles quite well Josh's journey through the mire of tournament life. Clearly, there are not many detailed works on the esoteric world of serious chess players. And this is a classic with rare footage of the maverick of chess, Bobby Fischer.

This brings us to his latest endeavor, The Art of Learning. Josh does a marvellous job at detailing his history of chess learning as well as his fascinating pursuits of martial arts. Not having a background in either is not a hindrance to the kernals of truth that abound in this book. Quite simply, this is a phenomenal resource for those wishing to append their library with a very cogent and strong guide to personal excellence in life, having been written from the mind, and more importantly, the heart of a brilliant and extraordinarily gifted young man. Though clearly there are studies, books, and information galore on the subject of performance psychology, it is rare to have one so beautifully written that covers exceptionally the intricacies of body/mind relationships. Josh is a powerful soul in his search for ultimate meaning and contentedness in his life. This book serves to inspire on many levels. Though personally I have had limited exposure to martial arts (and I can use my previous analogy again here!), my expertise and journey fall more into the areas of yoga, massage therapy, and athletic training specific to triathlons. With some 40 races in my history, including the finishing of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kailua Kona Hawaii in 2005, I was eager to hear the song of others who stop at nothing to delve fully into their mental psyches, spiritual cores, and physical guts. In this volume, I was touched by his elegant descriptions, his evident hard work, and most expecially that compassionate and tempered heart in his words. There is the sense of the ultimate competitor, who loves nothing more than a great, and fair, fight to determine mastery. And this is why I recommend this book so highly. Here is a most exceptional individual, who without rancor, ego, or any negative energy, gives us a unique view into his story, and mines for us true nuggets of truth that are so applicable to striving and surviving in today's world. Purchase this book, give it as a loving, passionate gift to those competing in any area, and use it again and again to reach the heights of excellence in your own life.

Josh Waitzkin is an interesting person. The title suggests Josh has some insights on approaches to learning with general application to persons other than Josh, sadly not. From a learning perspective, theres little here more beyond freshman psychology and pop psych-101, perhaps the insight into the need to take breaks mid competition to maintain focus and reduce unforced errors is insightful but thats about it.

However for all that, this is a well written book and continues the story of Joshs life after the movie SFBF. The closing chapters, as Josh progresses his martial arts career, are particularly well written and entertaining, and i can see why so many other reviewers found it inspiring especially other martial artists. Of particular note is his learned ability to deal with cheating at many levels with equinimity.

Overall a worthy autobiography, but a massivly disappointment in relation to pedagogical content alluded to by the title. Overall worthy, and a testiment to human motivation, and will to win, and the adaptability of the human brain and body.

The Art of Learning is not about learning. At least a couple reviewers said it ought to be retitled, "The Art of Josh." This is a pretty good idea. But a perhaps even more accurate title would be, "Some Basic Truisms about Sports Psychology."

The first 50 pages of the book begin innocently enough. I was enjoying it quite a bit. Josh tells his story as a child chess-champion and national celebrity. It's a rather charming story, which is probably why they made a movie of it. Waitzkin also lays out a few introductory ideas about learning theory, namely that the idea that intelligence is fixed is a fallacy, and that anyone can learn. Wonderful theme! Worthy of a whole book! But this is the last we hear of learning theory, and the last we hear of how ordinary people are prone to underestimating their ability.

It is clear that Waitzkin did almost no research into learning theory for his book. He references no more than two or three theories and studies. This really shows a great lack of effort in versing oneself in the subject matter one claims to be an expert on. Learning theory is actually a hugely active field in academia. It's been a hot topic for decades among psychologists, and studies are published just about every day in the study of learning. Then there is a whole other more theoretical field of education philosophy: what the aims of learning should be, and what are the best ways to learn and teach. Don't expect any of this kind of discussion from Waitzkin. This book was a marvelous opportunity to popularize and synthesize scholarly work in the field of learning, the conclusions of which are very uplifting in their insistence on human possibility.

But Josh is more interested in mulling over himself. After the story of his childhood ends and he expounds his one basic idea about learning, the rest of the book is all about his tai chi (much less interesting than chess); his armchair dabblings in Taoism, Kerouac, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance; and his commonplace tips on competitive psychology. Josh tells us all about his coming of age and transition into manhood. The story loses all its charm here. The book becomes a phallocentric and narcissistic male fantasy. Josh talks about he moves to Slovenia to be with his femme fatale girlfriend, escaping the suffocating fame surrounding him in New York, hiking through the mountains of Balkans thinking about chess and Taoism, being a dharma bum and backpacking through Europe playing chess tournaments, waxing philosophical about being a winner. When I read this portion of the book I got the impression that Waitzkin in his fame is cut off from and doesn't understand the way life is for ordinary people.

You can tell this is the case because the book lacks warmth and compassion. It's not about learning, its about "destroying opponents." Not once does Josh say, "you don't need to be a world-champ to be a somebody." He never says, "whether its gardening or being a great parent that you want to learn, you are a champion in your own right." No -- it's all about how to kill your opponents, how to win fights with a broken arm, and how to stay focused during grueling six-hour struggles. The books devolves into chapter after chapter of banal tips about how to compete, stuff Josh is too self-absorbed to realize is not relevant to any audience other than himself. You hear several times about how he likes to wash his face and do a 100 meter dash to clear his mind during a chess game. Or, how eating greasy food before a tai chi fight is bad. Thanks, Josh. Next time I'm at the World Championship of Awesomeness I will remember that. One whole chapter is about how Josh allegedly conquered this other guy's performance anxiety by having him build up calming associations to Bob Dylan and other things, and recalling these associations right before he was expected to perform. This amounts to nothing more than a dumbed down lesson in Skinnerian classical conditioning (experiments famously conducted on dogs, let's recall). If Josh truly thinks you can attain transcendental focus just by linking it to a proverbial jingle of a bell, then he really has no concept of the depth of human psychology. (On that note, David Foster Wallace once correlated professional sports performers with profoundly simple psychological makeups.) But I don't think Josh actually believes this; he was just trying to fill up pages because he ran out of things to say about learning theory about 150 pages ago.

If I had the opportunity to write a book like this, I would use every word trying to uncondition people from the tragic fallacy that they are static creatures and cannot learn new proficiencies and raise their overall intelligence. In this culture, the cult of the champion is just a reflection of the sad myth of making us all believe we're born-losers and lack the stuff of greatness. So we give up and limit ourselves. Education, media, and scientific institutions all conspire to tell us we cannot change ourselves and our lot in life is perfectly just. Josh doesn't understand any of this because he is the typical champion. His book is about being a winner, with the occasional addition made by his editors about seizing the day "in the boardroom" (ugh). It is therefore an alienating read that is not likely to motivate and instruct ordinary people in growing as individuals. The truth is, you don't need some spoiled narcissist who can't write, like Josh, tell you how to grow. The power lies within.

A person interested in studying learning theory and how to be a more "effective" person ought to, instead, begin by browsing by category "Learning" on Wikipedia and discovering the immense amount of topics in the field.