“Stupid Boy!”
2 days ago
Monday, August 31, 2015
The Chess Problem
I was eating my lunch in a crowded cafeteria. The diners sat elbow to elbow on long benches at polished metal tables arranged in rows. This kid next to me had a bunch of large wooden chess pieces on the table in front of him, laid out in the configuration of a chess problem which he appeared to be intensely contemplating. I leaned over to study the problem for myself when I noticed something curious. "There's no board!", I observed. The kid just nodded, still concentrating on the problem. I was impressed. Not only could he analyze all the complex movements and interactions of all the different pieces; he could do it all while visualizing where the pieces belonged on the board entirely in his head.
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Meanwhile, I still have to look at the rule book to remember where everything goes. And to remember what the "horsie" is called, as I believe that is not technically its name.
ReplyDeleteThe horsie, sure. He's right next to the tower and the pointy guy.
DeleteAn admirably succinct unconscious imagining of the mental processes going on in someone else's head that one is unable to match oneself.
ReplyDeleteExactly.
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