Josh Waitzkin

Because it's just like, that means you're just, and of course he was the one kid who didn't want to play against me, right? Because if you haven't lost a chess game in two years, you're not taking your shit on. You're finding people who you can beat and you're only playing against them. So there's a couple levels to this. Let's dig into it.

So I think that people who have identity in being a prodigy, develop a brittleness often because they associate their level of mastery with talent, with something innate, with being smarter, more brilliant, more gifted, whatever. And then that is, you think about Carol Dweck's work in entity incremental theories of intelligence, right? That's an entity theory of intelligence.

So I think that people who have identity in being a prodigy, develop a brittleness often because they associate their level of mastery with talent, with something innate, with being smarter, more brilliant, more gifted, whatever. And then that is, you think about Carol Dweck's work in entity incremental theories of intelligence, right? That's an entity theory of intelligence.

So I think that people who have identity in being a prodigy, develop a brittleness often because they associate their level of mastery with talent, with something innate, with being smarter, more brilliant, more gifted, whatever. And then that is, you think about Carol Dweck's work in entity incremental theories of intelligence, right? That's an entity theory of intelligence.

So I think there's that, and there's something fundamentally brittle about that. And then what, then one doesn't take risk, One doesn't expose oneself. One associates one's great moments with something ingrained or innate versus the hard work that it took to get there. And there's all sorts of paralyzing dynamics there.

So I think there's that, and there's something fundamentally brittle about that. And then what, then one doesn't take risk, One doesn't expose oneself. One associates one's great moments with something ingrained or innate versus the hard work that it took to get there. And there's all sorts of paralyzing dynamics there.

So I think there's that, and there's something fundamentally brittle about that. And then what, then one doesn't take risk, One doesn't expose oneself. One associates one's great moments with something ingrained or innate versus the hard work that it took to get there. And there's all sorts of paralyzing dynamics there.

To themselves and to others. That's right. But the lying to oneself is the really interesting part, right? So there's that dimension, right, which you and I have both seen just countless manifestations of. And believe me, like when you're competing against someone who you see has that kind of psychological construction, they're done. You can just break them, right?

To themselves and to others. That's right. But the lying to oneself is the really interesting part, right? So there's that dimension, right, which you and I have both seen just countless manifestations of. And believe me, like when you're competing against someone who you see has that kind of psychological construction, they're done. You can just break them, right?

To themselves and to others. That's right. But the lying to oneself is the really interesting part, right? So there's that dimension, right, which you and I have both seen just countless manifestations of. And believe me, like when you're competing against someone who you see has that kind of psychological construction, they're done. You can just break them, right?

There's so many chinks in the armor. So there's a brittleness there. Like you can just find where their mind stops in false constructs, where the energy stops, where their body's crimped, right? Like you can just find their connection to the ground and explode through it.

There's so many chinks in the armor. So there's a brittleness there. Like you can just find where their mind stops in false constructs, where the energy stops, where their body's crimped, right? Like you can just find their connection to the ground and explode through it.

There's so many chinks in the armor. So there's a brittleness there. Like you can just find where their mind stops in false constructs, where the energy stops, where their body's crimped, right? Like you can just find their connection to the ground and explode through it.

in mental and physical disciplines, if someone has that kind of identity in being the more brilliant one, the more gifted one, whatever, they're prey from a competitive perspective, which is ultimately good for them if they expose themselves to it, because then they have to take themselves on.

in mental and physical disciplines, if someone has that kind of identity in being the more brilliant one, the more gifted one, whatever, they're prey from a competitive perspective, which is ultimately good for them if they expose themselves to it, because then they have to take themselves on.

in mental and physical disciplines, if someone has that kind of identity in being the more brilliant one, the more gifted one, whatever, they're prey from a competitive perspective, which is ultimately good for them if they expose themselves to it, because then they have to take themselves on.

But the dynamic that I was reflecting on in chess players is a little next door to this, which is that I think that if you're learning how to play chess, and let's just say I was teaching you, do you play chess? Trivially. Okay, so let's say I was teaching you to play chess, right? I could teach you to play chess with a language that is chess-specific, right?

But the dynamic that I was reflecting on in chess players is a little next door to this, which is that I think that if you're learning how to play chess, and let's just say I was teaching you, do you play chess? Trivially. Okay, so let's say I was teaching you to play chess, right? I could teach you to play chess with a language that is chess-specific, right?

But the dynamic that I was reflecting on in chess players is a little next door to this, which is that I think that if you're learning how to play chess, and let's just say I was teaching you, do you play chess? Trivially. Okay, so let's say I was teaching you to play chess, right? I could teach you to play chess with a language that is chess-specific, right?

Or I could teach you chess principles. I could teach you very effectively with chess principles. But I could also teach you just as effectively or maybe somewhat more effectively. But it's to say just as effectively with chess principles that are also life principles. Right? And it's interesting when you watch most chess teachers, they teach in a localized manner.