Information Overload

How do you deal with information overload? We have news, emails, social media, phone alerts.

Do you treat it like something you can't change or do you go extreme and cut yourself off completely  and go cold turkey?

I have struggled with this over the years and definitely do not have all the answers. One problem for me is that nowadays a lot of our lives are online.

I came across the following resource that might be helpful.

http://www.timewellspent.io/take-control

The other problem I see is that you can miss some valuable resources.

I also use RSS feeds, email filters, and try to consciously plan to invest my time wisely. It's a continuing struggle.

Do you have any tips or techniques to handle information overload or effectively use your time?

Chess, The Simpsons, and other things from decades ago relevant to today

The Simpsons and Fresh Air turn 30 years this year. Fun listening to the clips (from 10+ years ago mostly).

It's got me thinking about all the amazing things from decades ago that continue to need our support and be relevant today.

What's something great from the past that we still do or need to support today?

- People have been playing chess for generations. The modern precursor started in India in the 6th century! https://www.chess.com/blog/jim_ostler/history-of-chess12

- The Nation has been publishing powerful insights and news since 1865. "Founded by abolitionists in 1865, The Nation is America’s oldest weekly magazine, serving as a critical, independent voice in American journalism and a platform for investigative reporting and spirited debate on issues of import to the progressive community. " https://www.thenation.com/about-us-and-contact/

- Consumer Reports has been around for 80 years protecting the public by providing independent reports. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/about-us/index.htm

- Our kids have watched Sesame Street since 1969. http://www.sesameworkshop.org/faqs/

- KPFT has been in Houston since 1970, surviving 2 initial bombing attacks by the Klan and supporting listener funded radio, speaking truth to power and building community https://www.facebook.com/pg/kpfthouston/about/?ref=page_internal http://kpft.org/about/

- The Citizens' Environmental Coalition (CEC) has been educating people and government about the environment in Houston since 1971, http://www.cechouston.org/CEC/about-cec/cec-history/

- Mother Jones has been around for 40 years supporting. It "does independent and investigative reporting on everything from politics and climate change to education and food (plus cat blogging). Some 11 million people come to this site each month, and we also publish a bimonthly, 200,000-circulation magazine." http://www.motherjones.com/about

- Democracy Now has been around over 20 years https://www.facebook.com/pg/democracynow/about/?ref=page_internal https://www.democracynow.org/

- Some good thoughts on how the world is pretty similar to the past. "So what are we to make of all this? Two things. First, that we can be awfully narcissistic, and boring—frozen in the past while making great pronouncements about the present. And second, that while we do notice what is changing—something’s always changing—we don’t notice the great many things that are not.4 But be careful of these, because we can’t manage change without managing continuity. There’s a word for change without continuity: anarchy. Would you like to live in times of great anarchy?" http://www.mintzberg.org/blog/continuity

http://www.npr.org/2017/05/19/529130399/a-salute-to-30-years-of-the-simpsons

How to read chess books to improve

Chess books come in many types and sizes. I'm going to outline how to effectively find and read chess books.

Mentally, be prepared to change your thoughts and push your limits. This is where people fail by being too stubborn or too lazy.

Puzzle/tactic books:

Perhaps the most important type of chess book is the puzzle/tactics book. This is probably what most players and in my opinion all players under 1600 should be focusing on.

To read a puzzle/tactics book, get a journal and write down your answers. Compare to the actual answer and try to "understand" the tactic and why you missed it.

• Focus on solving a few puzzles a day. 
• Pick a book appropriate to your level (you should be able to get about 80% correct). 
• Pro tip: carry this book around with you and do puzzles in downtime.

Endgame books:

All should be read with a chess board. This is secondary to tactics. Basic endgame books should be done with elementary tactic books. Club players should work on endgames as this seems like a common weak point. Experts and masters should be learning specific key positions.

• Look for rules and patterns over exact memorization
• Try to connect to your games and experiences

Opening books:

These books are really for club players and up. Read these with a chess board. 

• Develop a narrow repertoire and focus on learning it well.
• Seek respected players and authors
• Focus on key themes and model games

Chess biographies:

These are mostly just interesting, some learning, nice to have in your chess media diet.

Chess entertainment:

Not super useful, sometimes entertaining. Read sparingly.

And with that, you can become a very strong player, just put in the work. It's kind of like diet and exercise. We all know about it, but how well do we stick with it.

Are your study habits messy? Good news!

Do you feel guilty that your chess studying or life in general? Being messy can be productive. I have always felt a little bit guilty.

My chess studying has not always been the most organized. Jumping between tactics, opening, endgame, positional play was always a conscience decision and I think helped me improve rapidly. This effect is called "interleaving" and I find it fascinating.

I guess my study space and mental messiness kind of works.

See links below.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-being-messy-links-to-achievement/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-interleaving-effect-mixing-it-up-boosts-learning/

Note: I got busy at work lately, but will try to post more soon.

Going Deep with Aaron Watson

I was on the podcast Going Deep with Aaron Watson.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/going-deep-with-aaron-watson/id1016307641?mt=2

We talk about my chess history, improvement, the use of computers, and planning for the future.

Check it out. 

Wesley So and Tradeoffs

The rise of Wesley So has been extraordinary. I recently came across two blog posts outside the chess world here and here.

His devotion makes sense for a professional chess player. It's nice to see someone who grew up with little succeed. And his talent and hard work are tremendous. He put aside technology, learning to drive, and probably many other things to focus solely on chess. Essentially, he traded time and career flexibility to give chess his total undivided attention.

The lesson I take away from Wesley So is that there are trade offs and we each choose how we handle them. Wesley has made tough decisions to pursue and improve at chess. His choices were definitely a risk and in this case seem to have paid off in spades.

One important note: be careful about extrapolating too much as there is potential for survivor bias here as there are likely others who have done or are doing the same thing and have not succeeded. Wesley So is a data point of one.

We all have to make calculated risks in our lives (professional, personal). My recommendation is to carve out some time for what you enjoy (chess or otherwise), focus on it during that time, and enjoy the process and going however far you go (which for most of us out of contention of being World Champion means enjoying being an amateur).

How a simple game of chess can break through stereotypes

PBS Newshour recently had a story on how chess breaks down racial barriers. The link is here: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/simple-game-chess-can-break-stereotypes/#

In my experience this is real, I have played chess against all ages, races, and genders. It helps connect and destroy stereotypes. This unique facet of chess is part of its appeal to me.

I would like to see us teach chess at all schools as it helps teach taking perspective and destroy the barriers between us. I saw this when I taught chess in clubs and schools.

What do you think?

Stretch

Yesterday, I attended an event on a new book from a Rice business school professor called Stretch.

There was a nice panel discussion that was also posted to Facebook live.

The panel featured:

Brené Brown (researcher, writer, and entrepreneur)
Lynn Laverty Elsenhans (Former Chairman and CEO Sunoco)
Mike Feinberg (co-founder of KIPP charter schools)
Mosheh Oinounou (Executive Producer, CBSN)
Brock Wagner (founder, Saint Arnold Brewing Company)

https://www.facebook.com/BusinessRice/videos/vb.263438305472/10158305723465473/?type=3&theater

I couldn't help but think how this applies to chess. On the board, do you think about using your maximum resources? Are you using you stretching yourself as a chess player? Or are you chasing others?

We often possess the necessary resources to improve at chess, but we fail to use them. For me, this would mean more time investment studying and strategically choosing tournaments. What does it mean for you? How can you improve your effectiveness?

Richard Branson & Chess

Richard Branson loves chess as way to stimulate his brain. I agree.

Cheers to Richard Branson!

Check out the link below.
https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/what-is-the-best-game-in-the-world

Do something creative everyday

I came across this article this week. It basically says that people are basically happier if they do something creative everyday.

Chess inherently has lots of creativity in it. I see every game as an exercise in improvisation. This is at least one place where I get my daily creativity via either online games or puzzles.

Take a look and think how you might apply this research to your own life.
http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/12/to-be-happier-do-one-creative-thing-every-day.html

An adventure in creating content

I posted the following on Medium. I am experimenting on this blog. Soon, I'll decide the best platform(s) and publishing strategies. Leave a message below if you have some thoughts.

An adventure in creating content

You probably don’t know me. I have been 99.9% a consumer of content in my digital life. Chances are, if you are reading this, you are like me. I want to change that and produce content.

Why? I think there is value in independent thought and media. On issues that I am passionate, I feel like I can create conversations and share information. This is definitely a passion project.

Why Now? I am feeling inspired. In my personal life, I feel like there is enough time now that I am not in school or studying for the CPA exam. Also, Medium is a great platform for the type of content I plan on producing and this may be good practice for my life goal of writing a book.

My inspiration: There are a ton of great blogs, podcasts, books produced by great authors that share interesting & important issues and personal stories. There are countless but to name a few:

Blogs: Seth’s blog Krebs on Security The Chess Mind Math Babe The Waiter’s Pad Kathleen Kelley Reardon: The Blog Economist’s View Derek Sivers James Clear

Podcasts: Going Deep with Aaron Watson Longform Podcast The Perpetual Chess Podcast

Books: The Story of My Life by Clarence Darrow Merchants of DoubtSuperforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction The End of Normal: The Great Crisis and the Future of Growth The Myth of the Rational Market: A History of Risk, Reward, and Delusion on Wall Street Fooling Some of the People All of the Time, A Long Short Spam Nation Amateur to IM: Proven Ideas and Training Methods

I am passionate about learning, thinking, chess, reading, the environment, independent media, finance, business, society, happiness, and life.

Follow me on Medium. More to come soon.
This post can be found on Medium at https://medium.com/@alexchua_39665/an-adventure-in-creating-content-2539c2186423#.my83hx53z

Learning How to Learn

Perhaps the first step to learning is learning about the process of learning itself. I came across an excellent video on YouTube from Barbara Oakley. She also has one of the most popular courses on Coursera called Learning How to Learn.

I think this is an excellent framework with lots of great tips and advice (chunking, illusion of fluency, and more.)

Please watch the video and let me know what you think.

Watch the video: Learning How To Learn TEDX

Blog Creation

Hello world,

I am creating this blog as a place to post various thoughts mainly chess. I think that I might have some insights for improvement, expertise, and be a good resource. I am going to play around with the format and frequency of posts in the coming days.

Alex Chua