0-19 Education, mental capability, engagement, teamwork and social skills... ?

20-29 Engagement, exploration, practise... ?

30-49 Stress relief, high-value-for-time... ?

50+ Relaxation, social activity... ?

Okay, I'm ignorant

The Dans— Make their own meaning

1-9 kyus (SDK's)— Majesty

10-19 kyus (DDK's)— 50% 'decorating', Health

20-29 kyus (TPK's)— 75% 'decorating', Fun

20+ Kyus

20+ kyus (Class D, as they Do know of the game) and 10-19 kyus (Class C, Casual players— Fun.

In other life activities exist greater proportions of beginners, remembering once reading that the go playing population is centre-heavy in the single-digit-kyu bracket like a bi-convex go stone. Well, many people who play sports do so for reasons of harmless enjoyment and health more than trying to improve. But this is not the attitude I've often witnessed in regards to mindsports. In regards to mindsports, the proportion of players who are new to the game and feel some sense of needing to improve seems quite a bit higher. To me, this is good news, because it means we are completely missing the average layperson who would play go seeing it as nothing more than a fun pastime of which they do know the rules, in the case of twenty plus kyus, or a casual activity, in the case of 10-19 kyu (generalisations here). The go population would expand, and beginners interested in improving in this game would not have to play bots, as there would be large number of similarly ranked players who find it fun at their level and feel no need to improve, helping up along those who do. Why should someone 'quit' go completely because they're not improving (reducing time spent on it seems more logical if you find the game fun)?

Maybe, one way to win would be to relate aspects of go that hold true in another field to those within that field. I've heard that a large number of mathematicians play go, but from that I can only concluding that it is mathematicians finding mathematical beauty in go and relating that in some way when they teach go to others— attracting more mathematicians. Indeed, I have seen at least as much if not more similarity to writing or art (try this for you next novels plot strcuture).

10-19 kyus (Class B, hoBby players) and dan players (Class A, Advanced)
Continuing the point of improvement in go and other board games, we possibly see the greatest consequence (benefit?) in this group of players. Slumps. Online-Go-Anxienty (lets put that in the medical books), ranks. A lot in terms of prestige.

But not as much in terms of learning the attitudes employed by professionals. If in the single digit kyu ranks progression becomes much harder, focusing on the prestige of rank rather than the prestige and majesty of the game, along with lessons learned from those that develop the discipline to study the game their entire life, may be what's causing the imbalance for many a player in the game— so if your in a slump, don't just take a break. Take a break and recall the bent fingers of Go Seigen from replaying positions as a child, and you may wonder how you even got to the rank you have. Instead of being happy with your efforts and unhappy with the results, you will be unhappy with your efforts and astounded that you have reached the rank you have. Indeed, if what I have read is anything to go by, getting across the arbitrary dan involves ditching the hacks and holding onto the habits— something others not as anointed with go may appreciate.

Maybe most people, as a gross generalaisation, who play at dan level do not anymore need the '75%', '50%' or even '25%' decoration and relation of the TPK, DDK and SDK levels, but are for sure already anointed with something in the game that would keep them coming back to them no matter what.

If things go as they usually do, the fact that I've had a novel idea for five years should mean something similar should come up in Japan, where John Fairbairn related female go is 'booming'.

80/20 (81/19)

Hopefully not to beat a dead horse, but here's a thought experiment for this funny concept.

If the population proportion between each strength demographic was 1/5 per group, how could that be?

7d(2650+); 1

5d&6d; 25

3d&4d; 125

1d&2d; 625

SDK; 3,125

DDK; 15,625

TPK; 78,125

For Twenty Plus Kyus:
The main theme is that of a lighthearted or intriguing nature. 75% associative, i.e. only a quarter of those may consider themselves a 'go player' per se, but do know the rules and can play with any beginner wanting to improve to mighty heights, for example:
-Someone who is interested in the go equipment materials, or, possibly, a collector of antiques
-Someone who is interested in languages and communication, or history
-Someone who is interested in education or brain training
-etc...

For Double Digit Kyus:
The main theme is that of health and self-improvement; you often get as much at this stage out of learning go and developing some anti-misclick discipline or possibly actually reading. 50% associative. You can train for specific aspects of go, solving tsumego above your level to elevate raw visualisation, or speed reading easy problems to train pattern recognition and sharpness, or maybe opt towards the intuitive with whole-board judgement. In other words, it is evolving the focus from styles of play to styles of training. They could be:
-Someone who is interested in education or brain training
-Someone looking for a rewarding pastime
-A puzzlemanic looking for the next big thing

And so it may continue upwards... but I wonder, perhaps, if we are to encourage more beginners and casual players online, we slightly shift the perspective on the servers? Any innocent beginner may wonder online to find a fierce competition of rank going on. Although initially intended to merely serve existing players, what if a go server may act as a passive tool for go proliferation if appropriately devised!

On a similar note, it may not be so easy attempting to spread go outright, or convince other board game players that go is the best board game, making no difference to the boardgame playing population as a whole. However, we might be able to take advantage of our position as a relatively small to medium sized community within the western sphere. Instead focusing on trying to spread go to more people, we set out on specific projects intended to make a balance of population that will increase the go population with minimal effort. This might be harder to do the larger the population is, so it hopefully takes advantage of situations in which there are smaller populations still. In Korea, mothers believed go might help their children improve concentration and cognition. This might be called expansion by osmosis.

If a specific project is set out to achieved, it is much easier for people to tag along in an effort familiar to them, over spreading go, which they wouldn't be able to relate to at first. The EGF article linked above is a fine example. This might be called expansion by assimilation.

This is something that should, I hope apply to all mindsports, who have simlar problems competing with video games, and is dependent moreso, perhaps, on compassion and creativity more than anything else.

Osmisis-If struggling to expand a population, aim to balance the demographic so that the population expands naturally.

Assimilation-Implement a change in society that others can relate to and identify with. You get double the satisfaction!

I thought his was funny, maybe some will also. It seems the most probable and permanent way a toddler will be introduced to and follow through on something for life, is for both parents (and older siblings) to engage in it enthusiastically to the point of visibility, the toddler told, 'sorry, you're not old enough yet'.

Twaddle about with my games when organising documents/playing tennis/playing go seems so interesting? Dream on.

Unfortunately, for the things we want toddlers to learn, sometimes the opposite, in direct contradiction to the chief influential position example holds in the young brain, is employed, occasionally ending in the opposite result; they stay away as much as possible!

Go might be quite suitable for older people in various ways. One is that it is not too different from mental mathematics, sudoku or word-search in end-game terms, or painting in that the opening is a creative endeavor requiring subtlety and skill, and thereby we might say it adds, at least potentially, a social aspect to any lone life.