THE HOOD SCHOLAR

"When we go to decide upon a subject without really troubling to examine what it is, then at best we only inform ourselves of what is said about it; and our judgment of it will be founded on nothing more than a sort of pretense or imagination not reflected by the facts. If there is error in the reports we rely upon, then that error becomes our own; and this again in its turn confirms error in others. The mistake of one becomes a public mistake, and then it is consecrated; so that he must be a bold man who would question it, or even refuse it subscription"(Mason 5).

A lot of people live life as everlasting tyro. Never questioning the established doctrines, uniform schedules, and 'natural' order of things. The study of chess and application of that study to the approach of one's life, I believe, can change how one thinks and looks at life. When I say study, I do not mean play as an amateur. I mean, to really study the game as all the constants are exactly the same in human life - limited resources (pieces or people), limited space (corporate building, target market, or chess board), limited force (range of available motion between two bodies), limited time (amount of moves available before successful or failed completion of a desired goal, or amount of moves available before checkmate or before being checkmated).

The study of chess allows people to see the world with more foresight than the average acquiescent individual.