Mef wrote:I can't speak for the methods of pros, but one thing that may help you if you have a problem counting the board quickly is avoid the problem altogether. If you know that when you settled a corner it had ten points, it will still have ten points up until someone plays there. No need to recount it every time you assess the board. If you are making incremental changes to counts you have already made as play progresses, then it will only be the very rare case (such as considering a large trade) you must count anything quickly.
Wow. lol
Super duh moment for me.
This is going to save me lots of time.
Mef wrote:I can't speak for the methods of pros, but one thing that may help you if you have a problem counting the board quickly is avoid the problem altogether. If you know that when you settled a corner it had ten points, it will still have ten points up until someone plays there. No need to recount it every time you assess the board. If you are making incremental changes to counts you have already made as play progresses, then it will only be the very rare case (such as considering a large trade) you must count anything quickly.
Wow. lol
Super duh moment for me.
This is going to save me lots of time.
The part he doesn't mention is that now instead of 2 numbers, you have to remember 8 or more :p
skydyr wrote:
Wow. lol
Super duh moment for me.
This is going to save me lots of time.
The part he doesn't mention is that now instead of 2 numbers, you have to remember 8 or more :p[/quote]
Not true. Once you have a count all you need is to assess the change in that count as a result of the local skirmish.
Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).
saxmaam wrote:Is this a good place to ask question about content of DrStraw Counting Lessons posted on sensei's library? Or would discussion page on SL be better?
I once heard a story about a pro who was walking around a tournament, looking at amateur games. He walked past one particular game, where a spectator asked him "so who do you think is winning?". A few seconds later he said "I think White is ahead by 2.5". When asked how he counted so quickly, the pro said he looked at the board and asked himself "who would I rather be, white or black? - white. What if I gave black 1 extra point? Still white. 2 extra points? Still white. 3 extra points? Black. White is ahead by 2.5".
I can't remember where I heard this story, who said it, or even if its true but I thought it was interesting at least.
Tomer wrote:I once heard a story about a pro who was walking around a tournament, looking at amateur games. He walked past one particular game, where a spectator asked him "so who do you think is winning?". A few seconds later he said "I think White is ahead by 2.5". When asked how he counted so quickly, the pro said he looked at the board and asked himself "who would I rather be, white or black? - white. What if I gave black 1 extra point? Still white. 2 extra points? Still white. 3 extra points? Black. White is ahead by 2.5".
I can't remember where I heard this story, who said it, or even if its true but I thought it was interesting at least.
This is the story that I recalled as well. Still not certain about the source, though.
Tomer wrote:I once heard a story about a pro [...]
I once heard a story of a guy who was really good at multiplying large numbers without actually multiplying them!
When I asked him how he did it, he answered
Well, see, take 213*57 for example. Now, I subtract from that 10000 and feel like there's still some left. So I go up, 11000, still some left, Ok, 12000, still some left.
So I go on to subtract 13000, but wait! That was too much. So I go down to 12500 etc.
After doing that for a bit I arrived at 12141. Now if I subtract 12141 from 213*57 I feel like there's nothing left! So that must be the answer!
FUCKING_MIRACLES_by_fuckingmiraclesplz.png (28.47 KiB) Viewed 3569 times
Tomer wrote:I once heard a story about a pro [...]
I once heard a story of a guy who was really good at multiplying large numbers without actually multiplying them!
When I asked him how he did it, he answered
Well, see, take 213*57 for example. Now, I subtract from that 10000 and feel like there's still some left. So I go up, 11000, still some left, Ok, 12000, still some left.
So I go on to subtract 13000, but wait! That was too much. So I go down to 12500 etc.
After doing that for a bit I arrived at 12141. Now if I subtract 12141 from 213*57 I feel like there's nothing left! So that must be the answer!
bleeping_MIRACLES_by_fuckingmiraclesplz.png
Reminds me of the classic chapter "Feynman vs the abacus" from Surely you're joking, Mr Feynman (definitely a book you should read, liking physics or not)
Geek of all trades, master of none: the motto for my blog mostlymaths.net
^ Haha fair point. I imagine pro's as being so far above my strength that I'd probably believe it if somebody told me that they can kill a group with two eyes....
