thread: 2005-06-16 : Craft and Innovation
On 2005-06-18, Paul Kimmel wrote:
Paul, I think that's an excellent suggestion. But I'm going to stick with the de la Maza analogy a while longer, because it hasn't run out of steam yet.Actual play is a big part of de la Maza's program as well. But here's the thing about learning from playing games. Playing lots of games will slowly, gradually help me improve my game, but it will never enable me to overcome my blind spots. Nor will it help me overcome the quirks of my little circle of friends.
"The basics" refers to the foundational elements of the craft. In chess, it comes down to seeing where the pieces can go. In drawing, it comes down to rendering line, value and negative space. So, what I'm talking about is what comes before and in between the times spent doing the activity in question (i.e., playing rated games, making finished drawings). It's the board vision drills (in chess) or the series of figure studies (in drawing). Until a person masters the basics, they can only become so competent—an accomplished patzer, if you will. It's the same no matter what the craft.
The experience of gaming is too complex—and allows for too many interpretations—to serve as a drill or training exercise. But it's precisely through drills and training exercises that a person learns to master their craft.
