Book Review: “The Art of Learning” by Josh Waitzkin
When I first picked up Josh Waitzkin’s “The Art of Learning”, I was a bit hesitant. From the blurb, it seemed like the book is based on the writer’s learning method when it came to chess and Tai Chi, and since I knew nothing about those two fields, I thought some of the details might get lost on me.
But the process of learning is universal, and that’s what Waitzkin discusses in this book. Overall it was a fascinating read, and it allowed me to be introspective about my own ideas and experiences with learning. Here’s an overview of three chapters that struck me the most:
Investment in loss
According to Waitzkin, investment in loss is letting go of your ego and not resisting the strong forces that attempt to take you down. The learning process isn’t about winning, it’s about admitting your losses and using them as lessons to be better. He illustrates this concept when he talks about being constantly defeated by a Tai Chi expert named Evan:
“First, as I got used to taking shots from Evan, I stopped fearing the impact. My body built up resistance to getting smashed, learned how to absorb blows, and I knew I could take what he had to offer.”
Source: “The Art of Learning” by Josh Waitzkin
What Waitzkin is trying to address is how society brings us up to value winning while ignoring the gifts that loss has to offer. When you get used to loss, you fear it less, and by fearing it less you become more empowered to take on incoming challenges.
Making smaller circles
The idea of making smaller circles comes from Waitzkin’s approach that complex Tai Chi moves can be picked up easier if they are broken into their simplest steps and forms, and by refining these simple movements before expecting oneself to master the complex move as a whole. I’m familiar with this concept when it comes to painting, where, if you don’t know how to tackle the big picture, it’s best to work on it one small part at a time, and everything will come together naturally.
Using adversity
In the chapter on using adversity, Waitzkin talks about the time he broke his right hand and how he used this event to become a better martial artist. Instead of spending his time sitting and waiting for his hand to heal, he used the injury as an opportunity to learn how to fight better with his left hand. The lesson? While we may be tempted to give up when we run into setbacks or obstacles, it’s actually the best time to prove ourselves and get imaginative.
What does all this have to do with work? Everything. We often think that once we graduate from college, we don’t need to take our learning seriously anymore. But it’s more important to be willing students when we’re living in the real, adult world. Becoming more aware about our personal learning process will allow us to go through our careers and our lives more deliberately, getting better in our respective fields every step of the way.
One of the things I appreciate about the book is how Waitzkin doesn’t depict himself as a perfect student – he is flawed and the story of his rise in the worlds of chess and Tai Chi are far from perfect. We get to learn from his mistakes, and, if we pay attention, we won’t have to make these mistakes ourselves.
Since the concepts in the book require a bit of reading between the lines, this isn’t for people who prefer straightforward guides. You’ll need to figure out for yourself how the ideas in the book applies to the field you’re in. I’m still trying to figure it out myself, which is why I’ll probably go through the book again. Personally, I appreciate Waitzkin’s storytelling as his learning method is so tightly knit with his history and personality. After all, this is what the book teaches us – to open our minds to act of learning in a way that makes sense in the context of our lives.
To learn more about the book, check out the following resources:
- Read the book’s introduction at the Simon & Schuster website
- Listen to an excerpt from the audiobook version (read by the writer)
- Watch the interview about the book
Image by Celine Roque from Blue Rabbit Media
I loved the book and his approach. He was very accomplished and uses a lot of his learning to help us with our learning.