The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance
by Josh Waitzkin
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Book Summary Information
Author: Josh WaitzkinEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-20
ISBN: 0743277465
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Free Press
Book Reviews of The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance
Book Review: A Master of "Mastery Learning"
Summary: 5 Stars
In the subtitle of "The Art of Learning," Josh Waitzkin aptly describes his book as "An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance." It is about his own life's learning processes developed during the mastery of two disciplines. One is intellectual: chess. The other is physical: the martial arts form of Tai Chi Chuan. In the writing of the book, he demonstrates that he is an expert in the process known as "mastery learning" as well as a highly accomplished storyteller and teacher. You'll notice I've emphasized the word "mastery." That is because I want to be very clear. The book is not about accelerated learning or quick tricks for memorization. It won't help you cram for an exam and get an easy "A." It is about learning how to learn. About learning at a depth that the learning becomes a part of you. About developing enduring knowledge, skills or expertise. And about using that learning to perform at high levels.
If you want to know how to learn simply anything -- any subject, any skill, this is the book. It reads like a novel and teaches as if it were wired into your brain. It contains the most accessible description of the process of learning from experience I've ever seen, including the need for awareness, intention, attention, noticing details, analyzing, testing assumptions, planning new responses, testing behavior, honing, refining and practice, practice, practice. (Considering that I used to teach Psychology of Learning at the graduate level, I've seen quite a few descriptions of the learning process.)
And like a good novelist would, Waitzkin doesn't just tell -- he shows. You can bet someone has the "know-how" if he also has the "show-how." Moreover, he adds something you would rarely see in a textbook on learning processes: he uses the context of real life and actual experience to show the connection between learning and emotion, how to avoid its pitfalls and how to use it to your advantage. It is a very practical and usable book.
Please note, however, that although I stress how well he weaves his teachings into a story so that you learn them implicitly, he also has a great deal of quite explicit explanation. You don't have to guess what he means. The book could be used as a textbook. It is just more entertaining than a usual textbook.
"The Art of Learning" belongs on the bookshelves of anyone who wants to learn well and deeply, but most certainly it belongs on the bookshelves of psychologists, educators, trainers, coaches, students and all others who study "learning how to learn," right alongside of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's various books on "flow" and George Leonard's "Mastery."
Summary of The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance
Josh Waitzkin knows what it means to be at the top of his game. A public figure since winning his first National Chess Championship at the age of nine, Waitzkin was catapulted into a media whirlwind as a teenager when his father's book Searching for Bobby Fischer was made into a major motion picture. After dominating the scholastic chess world for ten years, Waitzkin expanded his horizons, taking on the martial art Tai Chi Chuan and ultimately earning the title of World Champion. How was he able to reach the pinnacle of two disciplines that on the surface seem so different? "I've come to realize that what I am best at is not Tai Chi, and it is not chess," he says. "What I am best at is the art of learning."In his riveting new book, The Art of Learning, Waitzkin tells his remarkable story of personal achievement and shares the principles of learning and performance that have propelled him to the top -- twice.
With a narrative that combines heart-stopping martial arts wars and tense chess face-offs with life lessons that speak to all of us, The Art of Learning takes readers through Waitzkin's unique journey to excellence. He explains in clear detail how a well-thought-out, principled approach to learning is what separates success from failure. Waitzkin believes that achievement, even at the championship level, is a function of a lifestyle that fuels a creative, resilient growth process. Rather than focusing on climactic wins, Waitzkin reveals the inner workings of his everyday method, from systematically triggering intuitive breakthroughs, to honing techniques into states of remarkable potency, to mastering the art of performance psychology.
Through his own example, Waitzkin explains how to embrace defeat and make mistakes work for you. Does your opponent make you angry? Waitzkin describes how to channel emotions into creative fuel. As he explains it, obstacles are not obstacles but challenges to overcome, to spur the growth process by turning weaknesses into strengths. He illustrates the exact routines that he has used in all of his competitions, whether mental or physical, so that you too can achieve your peak performance zone in any competitive or professional circumstance.
In stories ranging from his early years taking on chess hustlers as a seven year old in New York City's Washington Square Park, to dealing with the pressures of having a film made about his life, to International Chess Championships in India, Hungary, and Brazil, to gripping battles against powerhouse fighters in Taiwan in the Push Hands World Championships, The Art of Learning encapsulates an extraordinary competitor's life lessons in a page-turning narrative.
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