

Achieving the Impossible: on genius, chess and more - hhm
http://30sleeps.com/blog/2007/11/06/achieving-the-impossible/

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zach
All that buildup for some Tony Robbins flapdoodle? Here's a classic article
touching on similar topics:

"Before he was two years old, it is said, Wayne Gretzky watched hockey games
on television, enraptured, and slid his stockinged feet on the linoleum in
imitation of the players, then cried when the game was over, because he could
not understand how something so sublime should have to come to an end. This
was long before Gretzky was any good at the game itself, or was skilled in any
of its aspects[...] But what he had was what the physical genius must have
before any of the other layers of expertise fall into place: he had stumbled
onto the one thing that, on some profound aesthetic level, made him happy."

\-- From _The Physical Genius_ , by Malcolm Gladwell:
<http://www.gladwell.com/1999/1999_08_02_a_genius.htm>

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plinkplonk
wow ! that (Gladwell's article) was inspiring! Thank Zach!

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zach
Of course! Say, if you have the time, watch his recent video on the changing
face of genius:

[http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2007/gladwe...](http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2007/gladwell)

I think it has something to say about living near a startup hub, why the great
hackers of the past are different than the ones of the present, and maybe even
the future of tech startups.

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whacked_new
I read Tony Robbin's book(s) and frankly I think he doesn't know too much
about the science part of things he talks about. Nevertheless, even dubious
reinforcement can be helpful. I kind of needed it, so thanks.

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mynameishere
_Good things come to those who wait. Great things come to those who don't._

Great things come to those who don't screw around with games.

