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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.
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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".Read more ›
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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.Read more ›
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This item: The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance
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