Reddit reviews The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance
We found 6 Reddit comments about The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
A couple of people in this thread have mentioned Josh Waitzkin, a chess prodigy who later became a martial arts world champion. I'll echo that recommendation. Here are a few relevant ideas from his book:
On "strokes of genius":
> If a chess expert were to have his most inspired day he would come up with ideas that would blow his mind and the minds of others at his level. But for the master, these inspired creations would be humdrum... Grandmasters can play speed chess games that weaker masters wouldn't understand in hundreds of hours of study [because] they have internalized such esoteric patterns and principles that breathtakingly precise decisions are made intuitively. The technical afterthoughts of a truly great one can appear to be divine inspiration to the lesser artist.
> When I think about creativity, it is always in relation to a foundation. We have our knowledge. It becomes deeply internalized until we can access it without thinking about it. Then we have a leap that uses what we know to go one or two steps further. We make a discovery. Most people stop here and hope that they will become inspired and reach that state of "divine insight" again. In my mind, this is a missed opportunity.
> Imagine that you are building a pyramid of knowledge. Every level is constructed of technical information and principles that explain that information and condense it into chunks. Once you have internalized enough information to complete one level of the pyramid, you move on to the next. [Sometimes,] you have a creative burst... In that moment, it is as if you are seeing something that is suspended in the sky just above the top of your pyramid.
> There is a connection between that discovery and which you know--or else you wouldn't have discovered it--and you can find that connection if you try. The next step is to figure out the technical components of your creation. Figure out what makes the "magic" tick.
On intensity of focus:
> Most people would be surprised to discover that if you compare the thought process of a Grandmaster to that of an expert, you will often find that the Grandmaster consciously looks at less, not more. That said, the chunks of information that have been put together in his mind allow him to see much more with much less conscious thought.
He goes on to talk about how step-by-step breakdown of techniques and repeated drilling can effectively "slow down time" since at a certain point you can strip away the unnecessary and consciously focus on a few highly specific details, the same way people in the middle of car crashes often report that in the life-or-death situation they have moments of hyper-focus and unusual reaction. He argues that level of focus can be cultivated when someone is highly trained in a discipline.
For similar reasons, he talks a lot about how depth of understanding and mastery of basic skills is more valuable than breadth, first because, as he says, it "opens a channel for the intangible, unconscious, creative components of our hidden potential"; second, because once you're good at one thing you start to recognize what "good" feels like and are more able to transfer that to other skills.
On psychology:
He argues that the psychological component becomes more and more important at the top level of every discipline, particularly competitive ones. He gave an example in his book of one chess opponent who would, at the most critical points of games, "tap a chess piece on the side of the table, barely audible, but at a pace that entered and slightly quickened my mental process." He also gave the example of blinking being a moment of vulnerability in martial arts, and how at the top level people would sometimes do so intentionally as a feint. According to him, the ability to be clearheaded and present in high-stress situations is one of the keys at separating experts out.
tl;dr:
Build fundamental skills to a refined, instinctive level so that you can consciously focus on only the most relevant information and master the psychology of competition.
Anyway: He's a brilliant guy, and has some of the best insights around on learning and mastering skills, particularly in competition. Tim Ferriss episode, his book.
As software engineer there are of several books like Clean Code and in other fields there are probably other essential books.
But your question probably aims at books that convey general knowledge - increasing specifically the capacity of intelligence is very debatable - in this case my answer is The Art Of Learning.
You should be more specific about what you're hoping to learn. There are thousands of resources out there in regards to entrepreneurship, marketing, website development & eCommerce. You could find pretty much anything you want if you phrase it correctly.
Example Searches
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You can just keep going from there.
The basics of what you'll need, assuming you know nothing (which I doubt) would be this.
Everything else you just figure out along the way based on how you want to monetize your audience and quite honestly, no book is going to help you figure that out.
You'll learn a lot more just hanging out on Reddit and watching YouTube videos on the subject matter that's next on your checklist. Books are almost purely inspirational at this point and I think we can agree there are plenty of Podcasts that will help you find inspiration (and skill), such as The Top (Nathan Latka) or Mixergy
If you study hustlers you'll get all the information and inspiration you could ever hope for. Read or watch anything from Noah Kagan (AppSumo). No one does it better than him. Ryan Holiday (not an affiliate link) is another favorite of mine. There are also some older Tim Ferriss articles that really talk about how you approach certain businesses.
Like I said, man. It's all out there. You don't need to pay $1 for information, you just have to know what to look for and if you listen to a few podcasts or read a few beginner articles you'll figure out pretty quickly the steps you need to take next.
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Some Books I Like (no affiliate links)
Could not have said it better myself dude. Also, SC2 gives you a glimpse into how to have the best mindset to succeed in life, particularly in something competitive.
No worries if you're not a reader, but I read a great book about this topic called "The Art of Learning." The author is a guy who was a chess prodigy as a kid (there is a movie about him called "Searching for Bobby Fischer").
He then grew up and got into competitive martial arts of some kind and became a world champion at that. He breaks down everything he ever felt or struggled with while becoming a master at two completely different skills.
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Learning-Journey-Pursuit-Excellence-ebook/dp/B000QCQ970/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527188618&sr=8-1&keywords=the+art+of+learning
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Learning-Journey-Pursuit-Excellence-ebook/dp/B000QCQ970/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473716549&sr=1-1#nav-subnav
Take a piece of paper and make two columns. On the left write out the skills you listed above. On the right, brainstorm ways to practice those skills in various games (don't make it game specific, unless you're trying to get good at a specific competitive game).
Also, read this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QCQ970/
If you're into competitive games, read this too:
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw/