Key insights from
Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning
Audio available
16 minute read
Published Jan 5, 2021
What you'll learn
After taking his young daughter to chess tournaments, journalist Tom Vanderbilt decided to take up the game himself. Competing against (and losing to) eight-year-olds is not an enjoyable experience for most adults, but for Vanderbilt it was an exhilarating foray into the world of “beginnerdom.” Beginners is an ode to learning new things, to old dogs learning new tricks, to extricating ourselves from our comfortable, deeply grooved patterns so we can embrace those moments of looking like a clueless fool, and rediscovering the joy of discovery itself.
Key insights
- • What you'll learn
- 1 Becoming a first-time parent is the ultimate beginner experience.
- 2 Learn from infants—they are beginners par excellence.
- 3 Unless you’re a churchgoer, you probably haven’t sung with other people since the last birthday party you attended.
- 4 Don’t let the drive for accomplishment and “being the best” hamstring your eagerness to try (and enjoy) new activities.
- 5 By dedicating just a little time to practice a skill, you can distinguish yourself from the vast majority of people who have never tried it at all.
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