Mental Improvement

[wantonhalo]

Improvement in Scrabble, or anything, is always an interesting subject. There are so many subareas of any one area to improve in, and in such a deep area as Scrabble, each subarea is itself quite fascinating. While I occasionally get bored with improvement in an area--if strategy starts to seem degenerate, or studying becomes tedium--I soon pick up

Comments

[canikin]

So you aren't apathetic when you're observing, but sometimes are when you're playing? Seems a little backwards to me. I had this problem too, and I overcame it by uploading every live game I play online publicly. Knowing that those same observers who would be watching live can watch online seems to give me a reinvigorated competitive spirit and drives out the apathy.

[wantonhalo]

I am sometimes apathetic while observing, e.g. going through cross-tables games at a breakneck pace for no particular reason. Yet when I decide to really focus, I am a strong observer.

As for posting games online, while I think there is some truth in what you said, on the other hand I think that attitude could potentially make someone play fewer controversial plays (e.g., I can't do this, Good Player X wouldn't like this move!).

[canikin]

But does the cost of trying hard and being timid in your plays outweigh the the benefits of making 'controversial' plays? It seems better to try hard and not take risks than to try a little and be 'cute' with your plays.

[wantonhalo]

I am not saying that one should play something just for the sake of controversy, but rather that external pressures can tell you to make the wrong play, since the common knowledge often deviates from correctness. Any schmuck can play a game full of "controversial" plays, but they aren't going to win too many games. On the other hand, making controversial plays that are also good requires hard work and creativity, because that is what it takes to escape from the common knowledge.

[magratheazaphod]

I don't think the keys to playing good scrabble or observing are too different from the rest of life...always believe in yourself, always keep an open mind, try hard, don't sweat it too much when things don't work out. also, in long tournaments, getting enough sleep is really important.

you are already an amazing player. I know you always think I'm exaggerating, but seriously. keep gaining experience and no one's going to be able to stop you.

[redessence]

One of the biggest concepts to affect a player's game is what psych refers to as the broaden-and-build theory of emotion. In this substantially supported theory, positive emotions are said to broaden one's range of thought and generally promote various, unique manners of exploratory thought. On the other hand, negative emotions narrow one's thought life toward more survival-based thoughts. Creativity psych expands on this some, adding that focused attention (loosely correlated with negative emotions in broaden-and-build theory) hinders the creative process, while defocused attention is critical to the creative process

Creative psych

[wallydraigle]

Question: Does creative psych really actually apply to tournament Scrabble at all?

I really have my doubts. Good players apply what they know, kind of like a test. Does a carpenter exhibit creativity when he uses an unusual technique he taught himself years ago? Does a barbecue contestant exhibit creativity when he competes in a contest and uses an ingredient no one else does? Not at the time. I'd argue the same is true in Scrabble or chess or any game.

I know this is blasphemy to some people, but every position isn't *really* all that different. Saying that every game is different is like saying that every game of pool is different. It's true, but every good pool player uses a very simplistic approach to evaluate what they're supposed to do strategically.

Re: Creative psych

[redessence]

Well, a painter applies techniques (s)he's acquired through lessons/experience, and the end product is a creation. The substantial difference between a painting and a Scrabble position is that a Scrabble position is much more finite in possibilities than a final painting, so it's more likely for someone to make the same play than it is for someone to make the same painting. The process behind both, however, involves cycling through a lot of data in one's mind and combining concepts in a novel way. That's more my reasoning for including (de)focused attention, because while it comes from creative psych it's certainly not limited to that in its scope and application