The Pragmatic Pedagogical Goodness of Go
We find in the game of go much to be appreciated and commended as a part of a child's education, in the realms of the cognitive and the aesthetic. And within the broader culture surrounding go, we find a richness of spiritual aspects, even love.
Cognitive Development
It may be that there is no game so good as go at facilitating cognitive development. Unlike chess, checkers, Penté, and Othello, the game of go fully utilizes both hemispheres of the brain. These other games, however, are predominantly left brain demands, with the right brain in a virtual sleep state. We associate creativity, intuition, and aesthetic appreciation with the right brain, and go brings these qualities fully into play, for a most satisfying whole brain experience. Emotional Maturity
We learned go ("baduk" in Korean) by the South Korean method, our children beginning daily one-hour lessons at the age of three. We teach by the same method, which emphasizes respect for your opponent. Unlike chess, where players need to play against those in the chess club who are near their own level, in go a teacher can easily match any two players in the group with an appropriate handicap, making the odds of victory 50/50. In playing a wide variety of opponents, the sheer nature of the situation moves students to emotional equanimity, becoming inured to the steady acceptance of loses along with wins. Just the ability to play a wide variety of opponents is mentally refreshing, as each player has a distinct style. The game of go is expansive, beginning with an empty board. All stones are identical in function, and players build complexity as they lay stones down with each move. Fun (Delight)
The game is fun and becomes more engaging as children gain proficiency. While parents in Korea select it for the enormous cognitive benefits, children are eager to go to class because go is inherently fun. And a splendid secondary benefit accruing entirely to parents is that while the kids are at the go academy (for one or two hours), the parents can enjoy a quiet cup of tea or coffee at a nearby café for a good solid hour. In fact, we hope to build a Free Coffee Room in each Cornerstone Go Center, where parents can lounge about while their children learn in the same building. Simple Rules
The elegance of this game stems in large part from the simplicity of the rules. We teach young children, as you as 2 or 3, and they pick it up well. You speak as you show. They get nearly everything by the demonstration of capturing rules, learn from sheer immersion. Screen Reprieve
While we acknowledge that computers have done much to empower and simplify society, we strongly support moves to limit screen time, which is often easier said than done. Once you buy a child his first electronic game device, it is like trying to put the genie back in the bottle, or reverse the effects of opening Pandora's Box. As if by magic, the game of go becomes so engaging that children forget their digital games while at the go academy. And even for a time afterwards in many cases. Go has the potential to exert a strong influence on broadening a child's passionate interests, decreasing his desires to be unlimited hours in front of a screen. Family Unity, Harmony and Joy
While go is in the category of a martial art, you play it in a seated position. More physically vigorous sports bring out an ability gap between the generations, limiting the ability for the elderly to participate at full strength. Not so with the game of go. With an appropriate handicap, you can play a competitive game against anyone in the family. |
A Calm Mind
From my personal experience learning go in South Korea, I cannot think of a single student or teacher of go who was not possessed of a beautiful tranquil mind. A quality that extends beyond the game, lasting throughout life.
* I conversed with elderly men playing baduk under bridges down by Kap River in Daejeon City, and to a person, they were unusual Koreans in their broad magnanimity, possessing a quiet, confident mind open to talking with a foreigner on any topic.
* I knew professional go teachers, who vested much time and love in teaching my children four older children over ten years.
* I knew students of baduk and can attest that every one who had ascended to a level of maybe ten geup (8 kyu), was clearly different, more calm, in his mental outlook, slower to speak, more careful in listening. As an ESL teacher, I got to know rather well several thousand students. While a small minority were of high mental maturity, the higher level baduk players were never in the majority, but always in that quiet, beautiful majority.
From my personal experience learning go in South Korea, I cannot think of a single student or teacher of go who was not possessed of a beautiful tranquil mind. A quality that extends beyond the game, lasting throughout life.
* I conversed with elderly men playing baduk under bridges down by Kap River in Daejeon City, and to a person, they were unusual Koreans in their broad magnanimity, possessing a quiet, confident mind open to talking with a foreigner on any topic.
* I knew professional go teachers, who vested much time and love in teaching my children four older children over ten years.
* I knew students of baduk and can attest that every one who had ascended to a level of maybe ten geup (8 kyu), was clearly different, more calm, in his mental outlook, slower to speak, more careful in listening. As an ESL teacher, I got to know rather well several thousand students. While a small minority were of high mental maturity, the higher level baduk players were never in the majority, but always in that quiet, beautiful majority.
Chess and Go Quotes
Bobby Fischer Quotes from Chess World:
“Chess is war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent’s mind.”
“All that matters on the chessboard is good moves.”
“Chess is life.”
“I add status to any tournament I attend.”
“I like the moment I break a man’s ego.”
People in the U.S. often ask us if go is like chess. Yes and no. Yes, it is a cognitive strategy game. But no, the styles of play are not so similar. My experience in playing and learning Go is that there is involved a delicate dance, wherein to do well, one must work in harmony with one’s opponent, facilitating mutual development, while aware that it is at heart a competition. But, it is a competition where the highest quality of play enters into the realm of highest beauty.
Players at the higher levels report being left with a sense of the numinous, an ineffable experience of harmony, which leaves each player feeling mutually indebted and appreciative of the experience, having been joined in that one game. Each game is said to be unique, as there are purportedly more possible unique games of go than there are subatomic particles in the universe.
“By playing Go we become good friends.” - Takagawa Shukaku Meijin, In a calligraphy gift to the SF Go Club
“While the Baroque rules of chess could only have been created by humans, the rules of go are so elegant, organic, and rigorously logical that if intelligent life forms exist elsewhere in the universe, they almost certainly play go.” -- Edward Lasker, chess grandmaster
"Go appeals to warriors and philosophers while Chess is favored by merchants and amateurs."
Bobby Fischer Quotes from Chess World:
“Chess is war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent’s mind.”
“All that matters on the chessboard is good moves.”
“Chess is life.”
“I add status to any tournament I attend.”
“I like the moment I break a man’s ego.”
People in the U.S. often ask us if go is like chess. Yes and no. Yes, it is a cognitive strategy game. But no, the styles of play are not so similar. My experience in playing and learning Go is that there is involved a delicate dance, wherein to do well, one must work in harmony with one’s opponent, facilitating mutual development, while aware that it is at heart a competition. But, it is a competition where the highest quality of play enters into the realm of highest beauty.
Players at the higher levels report being left with a sense of the numinous, an ineffable experience of harmony, which leaves each player feeling mutually indebted and appreciative of the experience, having been joined in that one game. Each game is said to be unique, as there are purportedly more possible unique games of go than there are subatomic particles in the universe.
“By playing Go we become good friends.” - Takagawa Shukaku Meijin, In a calligraphy gift to the SF Go Club
“While the Baroque rules of chess could only have been created by humans, the rules of go are so elegant, organic, and rigorously logical that if intelligent life forms exist elsewhere in the universe, they almost certainly play go.” -- Edward Lasker, chess grandmaster
"Go appeals to warriors and philosophers while Chess is favored by merchants and amateurs."
STUB: Counters the Addictive Personality:
STUB: Dementia Protection: There is evidence richly suggesting that playing go yields protection against dementia.
The impacts of a GO-game (Chinese chess) intervention on Alzheimer disease in a Northeast Chinese population:
https://senseis.xmp.net/?MentalActivity
The impacts of a GO-game (Chinese chess) intervention on Alzheimer disease in a Northeast Chinese population:
https://senseis.xmp.net/?MentalActivity