Interesting thought process about Go that was worth reposting. Perhaps I will pick the game up again.
As of late, I have re-entered the GO world through the popular portal known as KGS. Several discussions sparked on the server has made my true love for the game strengthen and resurface. Users iTengen, marc, RoseDuke (one who arrived for part two of the discussion a few days later), GoSensei and several others, were discussing the correlation between intelligence and GO rank. Of course, one can’t do this without first defining what we consider to be intelligence.
Before we arrived at that point though, the general consensus was that there was a correlation until GoSensei introduced personal experience to put weight to his words. Basically, he started GO from a very young age. That brought to light pro dan players that are children who can’t be more intelligent than someone with a doctorate in whatever subject they chose to pursue. Summary was that children generally absorb things much easier than adults because of how impressionable they are. They memorize and remember things more efficiently, but they do not comprehend the material as someone older would. Comprehension comes from experience, something that most children are lacking.
When we moved in to define intelligence, the general idea that suited most of the users was that it is the ability to reach a goal in the quickest and most efficient way possible. This, of course, works great for those involved in the sciences. It completely discounts the facets of intelligence that deals with the arts, philosophy and the social sciences. It’s as RoseDuke mentioned, intelligence is not easy to define in simple terms and it encampses more than what most academic tests try to measure. Not only that, but even defining what is meant by “efficient” in the users’ definition is hard to do.
Follow-up on the children topic, I believe that a player’s decrease in when getting older is due to experience. In some ways it can make you stronger but in others it can instill fear and doubt. Also, other things end up taking priority as one gets older. This is just my personal opinion on the matter [strength decrease] based on some musing and MilanMilan’s comments in a game last night. Basically, it was during endgame where MilanMilan was discussing age restrictions for the pro test in Asian countries. I tacked on the “Asian” bit because the pro player initially asked “how many older players become pro?” Several users brought to light how the same age restrictions do not exist in the Western GO world.
This brings me into what I believe is reflected the most in a truly strong player and my philosopy on the game so far. I view it as a reflection of a person’s mental state and personality. Honestly, no amount of playing has helped me improve.; no amount of play will help you if you don’t stop to reflect on your plays and have a teacher guide you. Otherwise, you will be making the same fundamental makes in every game. What helped me improve was mental and emotional maturity over the years. The older I got, the more I changed and the more I changed my view on how to approach the board.
I think that all the elements are in play to enable me to step over the threshold that has held me back for some years. n9 and a separate incident helped teach me how to forgive and let go. All I need is determination and tenacity, something that is easily inspired by watching CK play.
