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Player's Age
Path: Study · Prev: SpecialIssuesInLearningGo · Next: PracticeMakesPermanent
Is Go harder to learn if you 're over 50 when you start? -- Facts and discussions about age-dependend Go topics -- See also mental activity. Frs: I don't think that improving is a matter of age but that it relates to the current rank. When playing in the 25 kyu league, it is more likely that a player plays occasional weak moves. The better opponent can exploit it for his advantage. But the stronger the players get, the less likely it becomes that they will play occasional weak moves. Thus it is more difficult to improve from 10k to 9k than to improve from 25k to 24k. HolIgor: Avoiding a direct answer for to the question: you touch an interesting point here. When I was IGS 5k* ( now this corresponds to 2k*() I asked myself: "Do I know every tactical trick in the book? Does the rest depend on your ability to read correctly?" I could see that studying yose I could become one stone stronger. Study of fuseki about which I did not have a clue could give me one more stone. And at that point my progress would stop. Is it so? I don't know. I've learned a lot of further little tricks, so I did have a margin for progress in that direction too. exswoo: I'm not sure if it's harder, but I did notice a whole series of Go books titled "Learning Go for players over 40" while I was browsing in the Junkudo in Osaka...I should take a closer look next time.
Frs: In people who suffer from senile dementia an area of the right brain begins to become stunted. Dr. Kaneko Mitsuo, a Japanese neurosurgeon, has taught Go to patients in the beginning stages of the disease. He is convinced that Andre Engels: I think there is a connection, perhaps even a strong connection. Just looking at the Dutch top-level players, I see that whereas most weaker players tend to have learned the game as a student or even later, the top players (5D and above) almost invariably were active players well before that. There's even a saying that one's age when one starts Go equals the class that one will reach if one keeps on playing (see my remark at Steps between ranks for an explanation of what is used by 'class' here). Charles Well, 5 dan is hard (and Dutch 5 dan probably harder). But the experience in Asia of retired people getting to average club level (kyu counted on the fingers of one hand) is that they do. Tamsin I am always very skeptical about commonly-heard claims that learning new skills, be they go, music or whatever, is significantly harder for people over a certain age. I have always contended that the critical factors are not age but the way in which the individual studies and that individual's raw talent. One reason young people tend to pick up skills more quickly is that they tend to be much more in practice at study techniques. Young people are forced to learn constantly: at school they are taught academic skills in a disciplined manner, and elsewhere they must meet the challenges of learning to fit in socially. Older people, in contrast, may have got out of the habit of tackling new material on a regular basis, and also have to face the distractions of work and family responsibilities, not to mention gradually declining physical strength. However, growing older can bring advantages: if you enjoy study, you can develop or relearn methods of studying effectively, and you can apply your accumalating experience to the task. Being older, you are probably better able to assess your life as a whole in a sober way, and to decide to what you really want to devote your spare time and efforts. Motivation is key to making progress in anything. You may also recognise, from having succeeded or failed in other areas over past years, where your strengths and weaknesses lie, and thereby tailor your study programme to them. Persistance also pays dividends: if you keep seeking new things to learn and keep trying to understand things better, it will eventually happen, even if it takes a long time. Every little trick you encounter and take note of, as HolIgor said, is a step forward. To summarise: getting older does not guarantee significant levels of cerebral decline. (A current TV advertising campaign stresses that a 70 year old has 97% of the brain cells that they had at 25). On the downside, it can mean adult distractions and rustiness at study skills. On the positive side, you can learn or relearn effective ways to study, and experience, motivation and emotional maturity can be powerful aids. Moreoever, God loves a trier! As a personal testimony: I gained a Ph. D. in music at 28 and I have performed with several leading cathedral choirs in England, but at the age of 17 I was still only a beginner in music who could not sing in tune or time. I learned most of what I know about music as an adult. Likewise, I was a complete beginner at go at 27, but now I've just turned 31 I am around 1k/1d by the UK scale. You can do whatever you want to if you have it in you to do it. Being an adult does not, by itself, mean that you've missed the boat. Bill: I saw a letter in a go magazine around 1970 by a Japanese man who had retired in his 50s and then devoted himself to go. He advanced one stone per year, from 1 kyu to 5 dan. (And a 5 dan then is worth at least a 6 dan now.) :-) Dieter: I wholeheartedly agree with Tamsin, even if my belief may be inspired by mere survival. Joshual000: I like to think learning Go has more to do with letting go of your current conception and adjusting to fit the new knowledge gained through experience. People who insist that their view is correct, but their implementation is flawed have a harder time progressing... This trait may or may not be attributed to ones age or range of previous experience gained. This of course is my humble opinion. It may be proven incorrect through future experience ;) Path: Study · Prev: SpecialIssuesInLearningGo · Next: PracticeMakesPermanent This is a copy of the living page "Player's Age" at Sensei's Library. ![]() |