Its interesting, a few years ago I would have agreed with Stefany, but now I'm beginning to suspect that whereas 'smart' cannot be learned, one can certainly become more stupid.

And once you have become stupid, can you bring your smarts back?

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I'm not sure, but I suspect it would be hard for a stupid person to extricate himself .

Yes, indeed. I have become stupid ... and now I need to find my smarts again. It's definitely not easy.

Aside from orc face being an awesome insult, could this be the immovable helel ... rattled?

Am I the only one who thinks Helel gets funnier and less trollish the longer I hear from him?

From 'Hmmm, he's just trying to be obnoxious' to 'Heh, that's our Helel~'.

Perhaps we have someone to replace the likably grumpy Sakata. =D

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Someday I want to be strong enough to earn KGS[-].

Psh, of course go makes you smarter. But it is not book smarts (other than playing the game itself). Gaining specific knowledge always requires specific learning. I believe go makes you smarter at other types of knowledge though. One such example is developing your efficiency in learning. Learning in of itself is a skill that can be developed. People appear to get smarter in general ways like this when going to college, but if you do get smarter during that time, it is by the fact that you're practicing learning rather than any of the books and subject areas you're studying. Someone could take computer science or molecular biology, it doesn't matter as long as you're putting in the learning.

Some people are indeed born with greater talent, but everyone has the capability within their own limits to improve themselves or let themselves go to waste (knowledgeably speaking). With enough very hard work, you can even change those limits. It's all about working with what you've got.

I sincerely believe that people would be generally smarter if they went out and did some real hobbies rather than watch TV after coming home from a repetitious job every day (not saying TV is bad!).

There's also the philosophy side of it. Go has changed the way I view life and will impact the decisions I make by this. I feel I have a greater understanding and appreciation for balance than before. I think there's a lot more to being "smart" than lead on. Also, you have to TRY hard in order to get anywhere with go in this smarts context.

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What would be really funny is if helel is Dr. Straw's new persona

An option I have considered, I assure you. =D

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Someday I want to be strong enough to earn KGS[-].

That image is... awesome... Next time I DM a role-playing game, I will try to let the characters run into that. Nice

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My name is Gijs, from Utrecht, NL.

When in doubt, play the most aggressive move

Pure gold!

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FusekiLibrary, an opening library.
SGF converter tools: Wbaduk NGF to SGF | 440 go problems | Fuseki made easy | Tesuji made easy | Elementary training & Dan level testing | Dan Tutor Shortcut To Dan