Understanding the Whole
There is an idol I admire named Aaron Hsu. He has a saying, "More is accomplished by understanding the whole than optimizing the part." In life, there are many things that force you to focus on details, and details can be tempting. Doing is also a temptation; it is much easier than thinking.
Wu Qingyuan wrote about Go as the game of harmony. Throughout history, in heaven and earth, he played his jade stones, seeking balance.
"In the game of Go, one must be as swift as a running rabbit and as calm as the deep sea. Silence is a profound state in the world of Go, and he skillfully finds suitable points to obtain silent territory.
Indeed, this is true. All "slowness" is not absolute; it is relative to the fast-paced thinking of modern life. This relative slowness can be called "deceleration." The speed of Go is not determined by the external speed of moves; rather, it is the hidden cognitive speed and judgment speed that matter. Just like well-fitted clothes, maintaining a suitable speed for the game's flow is the essence of appropriate speed. In other words, it can be called "balance."
Ikujiro Nonaka wrote a book called "The Essence of Strategy." In it, he analyzes strategy as not just a battlefield plan but as an interaction with the opponent.
"Before the seventh year of the Bunsei era, my Go skills were insignificant, like a speck of dust. However, in the spring of the seventh year of Bunsei, I suddenly realized that there was a force of sublimation in my Go."
"After winning the first Meijin title, Shuho wrote the words 'no enlightenment.' At that time, my mindset underwent a sudden change: I felt that I had no affinity for that solemn and profound enlightenment. In the end, I was still myself, only able to play 'my' Go. So, I had no choice but to continue on this path."
Understanding the whole is more important than optimizing the part.
Short-term and local perspectives are filled with optimized details, but they are temptations. Temptation is called temptation because it is inconsistent with the short-term and long-term.
Wang Mingwan said that the motto of a Go player's annotations actually represents the things "I want to do but cannot." It serves as a restraint, preventing me from leaning too much toward practical considerations. I hope to achieve it."
Duan Yongping's concept of being grounded and having a calm mind may also be about standing at a farther distance, a longer time, and looking back at the present moment.
Charlie Munger said, "Understanding the power of compounding and the difficulty of achieving it is the core and soul of understanding many things."
Choose the globally optimal solution. If you want to plant a tree, plant a seed in the present and leave the rest to time.
Often, older people are more inclined to plan problems over a longer period because it is the most appropriate thing for them. They may have understood what Aristotle said, that a person is their habits. So, in the moments when time is scarce, they choose to view problems from a long-term perspective.
This is very similar to winning rates. A 50.5% winning rate and a 49.5% probability correspond to different long-term winning rates.
Graham marked learning a language in such a way that there is a point where, once crossed, the language becomes a part of your life. All your previous efforts will sink if you haven't crossed that point.
Imagine your thoughts as a snow-covered mountain. Your ideas are sleds sliding down the mountain. After a while, through years of contemplation, grooves are carved into the snow. Over time, they become deeper. Eventually, you cannot slide down the mountain without entering one of these grooves.Psychedelics makes the snow flat and adds plenty of fresh powder. Then, you can take the sled wherever you want to go.
Many past mistakes were inevitable. You cannot escape them. But the future is like fresh snow, and it requires holding your breath.
"Through chances various, through all vicissitudes, we make our way... Aeneid."