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Why is chess any more of a trivial pursuit than, say, art or music? Did Mozart or Michelangelo waste their whole lives for nothing?
by asdfologist 9y ago
Why is chess any more of a trivial pursuit than, say, art or music? Did Mozart or Michelangelo waste their whole lives for nothing?
- nopinsight 9y agoMozart and Michelangelo were major innovators in their fields and influenced an enormous number of artists in subsequent ages. Their works were also epitomes of human excellence, something we all can appreciate and be proud of as a species. If you are likely to make great innovations in chess moves or patterns that will influence a large number of people in subsequent generations, you may have an impact. Given the dominance of computer chess and the small proportion of the world who appreciate advanced chess, your impact will still very likely be smaller than those of giants in art or music. Fields matter: Newton and Einstein still changed the world much more than Mozart and Michelangelo did.
- kylebgorman 9y agoMechanical reproduction is a force multiplier allowing your art to touch millions or billions. (Mozart & Michelangelo didn't know this was coming, but I'm a consequentialist, so I give them credit for it.) Far smaller is the audience for play-by-plays of competitive chess. I'd guess because the experience is less visceral? I've read a beginner-intermediate books with this kind of play-by-play and found it interesting enough, but I'd take my record collection over those books any day.