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submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by SexualPolytope@lemmy.sdf.org to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world

Sure, playing chess needs intelligence, dedication, and good chess players are smarter than an average person. But it's waaaay exaggerated in movies. I'm a math researcher, and in any movie, my department will be full of chess geniuses. But in reality, only about 10% of them even play chess.

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[-] Zizzy@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 weeks ago

People need to stop putting chess on a pedestal. Its a game. General intelligence has no bearing. Its a specific skillset you can hone by practice and research, just like any other game.

[-] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 1 points 2 weeks ago

It is a super deep game for how simple it is, i think that's the "genius" part. But remembering openings in chess and their names doesn't make you a genius, it makes you a genius in chess.

[-] Natanael@infosec.pub 1 points 2 weeks ago

Almost anything where memorization is the primary skill is going to be dominated by people with specific interest, rather than general high intelligence (certainly doesn't exclude it, but it's just statistics). Gotta look for something frequently requiring novel problem solving and adaption to filter for high probability of high general intelligence.

Then there's also a lot of games requiring very narrow intellectual ability. Being able to parse a specific ruleset, or doing a specific kind of math fast, without needing to be able to handle anything novel. You'll certainly find some "interesting individuals" around those kinds of games.

[-] GoodLuckToFriends@lemmy.today 1 points 2 weeks ago

Being able to parse a specific ruleset, or doing a specific kind of math fast

Oh man, I would love competitive tabletop games, where the goal isn't to min/max your build, but to min/max your build after being given a brand new system and 45 minutes to read the rules.

[-] SexualPolytope@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Lol, I can relate. My friends are always surprised how good I am at a game when I'm playing for the first time (mostly card games, and board games). But I quickly get bored, so never get to be actually good at any of those.

Same with language. I can pick up a little bit of any language fairly quickly, but to actually learn it, I basically need to be forced e.g. live in a place where most people don't speak anything else.

[-] MimicJar@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Exactly, Chess is Mario Kart.

Anyone can learn how to play Chess. Anyone can learn how to play Mario Kart.

You slap a controller in someone's hand tell them "A" is go and they can play Mario Kart. Sure they have to learn the track, where to collect power ups, where the shortcuts are, and eventually they have to learn about and master drifting.

But being a genius in Mario Kart doesn't make you a genius. No heist movie ever said, "And this genius over here? They scored first place in 200cc Special Cup."

[-] jballs@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Would be hilarious if Hollywood moved away from chess to show someone being smart and instead showed them yelling at teammates in League of Legends.

this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2025
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