Xref: utzoo sci.lang:2070 sci.psychology:70 rec.games.go:374
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From: crown@dukempd.UUCP (Rick Crownover)
Newsgroups: sci.lang,sci.psychology,rec.games.go
Subject: Re: Thinking during game playing (was Re: language, thought, and culture)
Message-ID: <625@dukempd.UUCP>
Date: 18 Mar 88 15:26:35 GMT
References: <7714@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <152@yendor.UUCP> <960@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu>
Organization: Duke University Physics Dept.; Durham, N.C.
Lines: 24
Summary: Concur with Go dreams

In article <960@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu>, vu0112@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Cliff Joslyn) writes:
> There was a stage when I was just getting decent, when I went to bed at
> night and literally had hypno-gogic (sp? pre-dream state) visions of
> stones dancing around in semi-real patterns (there are certain shapes in
> the game that are recurrent).  That stopped, eventuallly.  I feel that
> what happened was that I was going through a process of learning to
> control this new form of representation, of rules, not the literal rules
> of the game, but the figurative rules of how the stones "behave. 
> 
	Your description of a 'dreaming stage' is interesting.  I am also a
Go player at about the same level; and I too experienced a period of go stones
rearranging as I fell asleep.  This period coincided/preceeded a notable jump
in my game strength and also coincided with a definite enhancement of my ability
to replay games from memory.  As a physicist I have encountered similar
experiences of material "gelling." after struggling with a new topic.
	Seems to me like an induced 'aha' to use pop psych terminology.  Solvinga scientific riddle sometimes feels similar depending on how the solution was
obtained (eg, by brute force grunt work or inspired insight).  It is sad that
these states don't last longer.  The go 'visions' only lasted a few weeks;
maybe it will happen again when some new aspect of the game is incorporated? :-)
	                             Aloha,  Rick
-- 
	Rick Crownover				1-919-684-8279 
	Duke University Dept. of Physics	crown@dukempd.uucp
	Durham, N.C.      27706			mcnc!duke!dukempd!crown