The Art of Learning | Book by Josh Waitzkin

A book of insights on learning, based around Waitzkin’s experiences as a child chess prodigy (he became an international master at age 16) and world-class martial artist (competing in Tai Chi Push Hands). The book goes into great depth about Waitzkin’s own learning process, providing insight into how he became a master of his arts.

The book provides a language for talking about learning and skill acquisition — without the words to describe your experiences, the process can be frustrating. Plus Waitzkin’s experiences are cool and his descriptions really compelling, so you’ll want to read it cover-to-cover.

I’ve come back to this book twice and I find myself echoing Waitzkin’s terms whenever I’m deep into learning a skill. Honestly I’m a pretty big Josh Waitzkin fanboy — I’ve also written about his first and second appearances on the Tim Ferriss podcast and have tried to summarise some of his ideas on learning.