The Art of Learning By Josh Waitzkin

Question 0

What is the first step along the performance training path?

Answer 0

Obtain the soft zone.

Question 1

What is the First step in performance training?

Answer 1

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Question 2

What is a hard zone?

Answer 2

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Question 3

What is the soft zone parable?

Answer 3

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Question 4

What did Josh do when songs started to enter his head whir playing chess?

Answer 4

Started to think to the beat of the song.

Question 5

Who is Rudy Bloomenfleld?

Answer 5

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Question 6

What is training for dealing with pain or chaos?

Answer 6

To accept the situation rather than fight against it.

Josh used to play gin rummy and not sort his hand but do the sorting in his head. Peace and comfort in the chaos.

Question 7

What is the result of not clearing your mind after a mistake?

Answer 7

The Downward Spiral

Question 8

What is a physiological flush?

Answer 8

It is a change of state by for example getting up and sprinting, completely changing your physiology to achieve a different state of mind.

Question 9

What is it analogous to when you are in a downward spiral?

Answer 9

Analogous to two lines in space. One is time and on is your perception of time. When you are present with what is your perception of time is right up front with the expansion of time. But when you make a mistake and get caught up in what was, you create a layer of detachment between your perception of time and the expansion of time. Time goes on but we stop. It is like crossing the street with our eyes closed in memory.

Question 10

What is numbers to leave numbers?

Answer 10

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Question 11

What is form to leave form?

Answer 11

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Question 12

How do you feed your subconscious mind according to Josh?

Answer 12

Do High Complexity work in the evening with high concentration and then writing on it in the morning before you receive any other inputs to confuse what your subconscious mind worked on while you slept.

Question 13

What are cognitive biases?

Answer 13

We make a decision and then we try to justify those decisions. But if the position changes and we are still addicted to that previous decision we will continues to make poor choices and then enter the downward spiral.

Question 14

How do you deal with cognitive biases?

Answer 14

Presence of mind will help you to slice through the emotional content of your thoughts and cut it away.

Question 15

What is the analogy that Josh uses and what does he equate the mine to in the analogy?

Answer 15

Like taming a wild stallion. You have to put in time and at first it is bucking and fighting you constantly. The more time you put in the less forceful and frequent he outbreaks are. Over time you learn to tame the mind and control it.

Question 16

What has an athlete done with regards to suffering that has allowed them to get an edge over everyone?

Answer 16

Changed their relationship to.

Question 17

What books does he recommend?

Answer 17

Tai de Ching - JF who feng translation? 
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance
On The Road 
Dharma Bums 
Shan't arum (Gregory David Roberts) 
For Whom The Bell Tolls - Favorite 
The Green Hills Of Africa 
Old Man In The Sea
A Moveable Feast 
Hemingway On Writing