Slowing Down Time

"Slowing Down Time" is a chapter from the book, The Art of Learning by Waitzkin. The book is more of an anecdotal account of how a child chess prodigy turned national champion learns how to be a world champion tai chi master. The book is about his thoughts on learning and taking on a new endeavor. It's not at all statistical or research-based.

Slowing down time means processing more information in less time by encountering similar situations or problems in the past. He relates this idea to chess. A higher level player can process the same chess board (information) with less effort than that of a lower level player. He uses a similar concept to relate to tai chi. An experienced fighter will need to move less because he can read his opponents movements. 

In chess, Waitzkin learns starting from the endgame. He starts with 2 kings and a pawn. Then he adds more pawns. Then he plays with 2 kings a pawn and a rook, etc. He first learns how each piece moves and then adds complexity in order to build experience or intuition. Waitzkin believes that players who memorize openings and certain lines do not have the same level of understanding of how pieces form a board. He likes to create complex board states and force his opponents to crumble under pressure.