I came across this quote by a great man from the local area that I was reading up on, and it inspired me to begin writing immediately.

“A man is a fool not to put everything he has, at any given moment, into what he is creating. You’re there now doing the thing on paper. You’re not killing the goose, you’re just producing an egg. So I don’t worry about inspiration, or anything like that. It’s a matter of just sitting down and working. I have never had the problem of a writing block. I’ve heard about it. I’ve felt reluctant to write on some days, for whole weeks, or sometimes even longer. I’d much rather go fishing. for example. or go sharpen pencils, or go swimming, or what not. But, later, coming back and reading what I have produced, I am unable to detect the difference between what came easily and when I had to sit down and say, ‘Well, now it’s writing time and now I’ll write.’ There’s no difference on paper between the two.”

Frank Herbert, 1920-1986

I’d like to think this is as applicable to writing on a web log about Go as it is to writing excellent science fiction novels. He has another quote as well, that I thought sounded appropriate for Go players: “The stakes in conflict do not change. Battle determines who will control the wealth or its equivalent.” Territory on the board is like wealth, or oil, or brownies in a pan, depending on who is explaining it at the time. Obviously, the ultimate goal in Go is to control the most actual territory at the end of the game. The approach is where the artistry comes in

I have lately been seeking out advice on things like fighting in close quarters, and am particularly interested in acquiring Bruce Wilcox’s “Contact Fighting” software, as I have heard excellent things about it, and I am currently reading something else that he wrote, “EZ-GO: Oriental Strategy in a nutshell” which I think is most excellent.

Here is an excerpt from a great section I was reading under the heading “Philosophy and Go”:

Go has a spiritual side, a reflection of Oriental philosophy. To concentrate only on the concepts easily understood in the Western tradition would not make a good Go player. To become a strong player, you need qualities that seem unexpected at first, but which can have repercussions in everyday life. Duality: In Oriental philosophy, everything in the world can be seen as the dynamic interplay of opposite qualities: Yin and Yang, felame and male, receiving and giving, rest and activity, faith and rationality. Within every individual are both opposing qualities. The West tends to think of opposites as opposing, whereas the East thinks of opposites as cooperating parts of the same whole. (…)

For example, the Western mindset is heavily biased in favor of action and often neglects the value of its polar opposite, inactivity or resting. Allowing situations to “ripen” and delegating action to others comes less easily to us. In Go, a weaker player is tempted to make overplays, feeling that the only way to get the opponent to make a mistake is to take action to force the opponent to pick badly. Stronger players are content to be passive and play a non-threatening peaceful move. They know full well that if you give a weaker player the initiative, the weaker player will usually pick a bad move without any help.

I am quite impressed with the book overall, and I am certain I will be purchasing additional materials from its author. I feel that he is definitely calling out some mistakes I make regularly, ie. being on the attack constantly and then running out of all the aji or potential gain in a situation. I very much enjoy the philosophical ruminations on Go and its nature. This section continues on to talk about radical change, cyclical change, preparation, and surrender, as each of these ideas apply to the game of Go and with examples in each section. The clarity of thought and excellent use of metaphor makes this a must-read for anyone looking to hook an english-speaking person into Go. You will be able to explain and see some of the deeper elements of the game I think are present vs other similar games such as Chess.

More later, but I have to get back to work.