Bobby Fischer - "genius" and asshole
http://www.tnr.com/book/review/endgame-frank-brady
This sounds like a pretty interesting book, although I suspect that from my point of view, the review of it here is enough for me. Full disclosure: despite being a fanatical and life-long gamer, my expertise has been in wargaming, miniatures and role playing games. I am a terrible chess player - perhaps the worst of all time. I doubt I've ever won any of the several dozen games that I played in my youth, (I don't think I've touched a board in thirty years). So it may sound a little churlish of me when I say that I'm not quite impressed with it. Is someone a "genius" if they're very good, even perfect at it? A game? You're comparing a game to Newton and his physics? I'm not even convinced it's the ultimate game. My own votes would go to the Oriental game of Go, or perhaps five card draw poker, (and maybe my beloved Diplomacy). I mean, each have their advantages and disadvantages. But frankly, I'd argue that Go is much more sophisticated and subtle, and Diplomacy has the added advantage of being immune to wins by number crunching computers as occurs in Chess, (I don't negotiate with glorified toasters - I crush them....).
And as someone who has been around the nerdish worlds of wargaming, rpg's, sci-fi, fantasy, cult TV, etc. I have to ask about the possibility of turning around the psycho-analysis of "chess genius is mad because he's a chess genius" to one of "insane geek is chess genius because that's all that's left for him to do." I mean, seriously, hang around a wargame shop or a sci-fi convention long enough, and you're going to run into a lot of mini-Bobby Fischers. I guarantee it. And some are just as big an asshole as he was. (Look at the character of 'comic Book Guy' on the Simpsons....) They gravitate to hobbies like that by pure magnetism. Many of them become quite knowledgeable, even expert, in the hobby, or some obscure aspect of it. Generally because that's all they have - it's not like they're going out on dates, having fine careers, or learning about personal hygiene... And one out of a million becomes so focused, that they become the uber-nerd, (still no contact with soap and a bathwater, however). It's just the odds playing out. And I guess I just don't see anything particularly unusual with that. Especially if you have at least a small crowd of fellow nerds encouraging and enabling that behavior and expertise.
Again, I love games, the design and play of them is something very enjoyable to me, and the camaraderie with my fellow gamers is something I cherish. But genius? I'd much rather equate that with something in the world. Show me the person(s) who cures a disease or develops a new engineering principle, or figures some way to drive through Tyson's Corner at Rush Hour in less than 90 minutes - now that's a mental activity in the REAL world - dealing with all the challenges (without a rule book) that can fly in unexpectedly. To me, THAT'S genius.
This sounds like a pretty interesting book, although I suspect that from my point of view, the review of it here is enough for me. Full disclosure: despite being a fanatical and life-long gamer, my expertise has been in wargaming, miniatures and role playing games. I am a terrible chess player - perhaps the worst of all time. I doubt I've ever won any of the several dozen games that I played in my youth, (I don't think I've touched a board in thirty years). So it may sound a little churlish of me when I say that I'm not quite impressed with it. Is someone a "genius" if they're very good, even perfect at it? A game? You're comparing a game to Newton and his physics? I'm not even convinced it's the ultimate game. My own votes would go to the Oriental game of Go, or perhaps five card draw poker, (and maybe my beloved Diplomacy). I mean, each have their advantages and disadvantages. But frankly, I'd argue that Go is much more sophisticated and subtle, and Diplomacy has the added advantage of being immune to wins by number crunching computers as occurs in Chess, (I don't negotiate with glorified toasters - I crush them....).
And as someone who has been around the nerdish worlds of wargaming, rpg's, sci-fi, fantasy, cult TV, etc. I have to ask about the possibility of turning around the psycho-analysis of "chess genius is mad because he's a chess genius" to one of "insane geek is chess genius because that's all that's left for him to do." I mean, seriously, hang around a wargame shop or a sci-fi convention long enough, and you're going to run into a lot of mini-Bobby Fischers. I guarantee it. And some are just as big an asshole as he was. (Look at the character of 'comic Book Guy' on the Simpsons....) They gravitate to hobbies like that by pure magnetism. Many of them become quite knowledgeable, even expert, in the hobby, or some obscure aspect of it. Generally because that's all they have - it's not like they're going out on dates, having fine careers, or learning about personal hygiene... And one out of a million becomes so focused, that they become the uber-nerd, (still no contact with soap and a bathwater, however). It's just the odds playing out. And I guess I just don't see anything particularly unusual with that. Especially if you have at least a small crowd of fellow nerds encouraging and enabling that behavior and expertise.
Again, I love games, the design and play of them is something very enjoyable to me, and the camaraderie with my fellow gamers is something I cherish. But genius? I'd much rather equate that with something in the world. Show me the person(s) who cures a disease or develops a new engineering principle, or figures some way to drive through Tyson's Corner at Rush Hour in less than 90 minutes - now that's a mental activity in the REAL world - dealing with all the challenges (without a rule book) that can fly in unexpectedly. To me, THAT'S genius.
posted by mendip at
4:17 PM
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