Life In 19x19

So why is it that these tiers exist? What determines who can make it to the 4-6 dan tier or beyond? Why is it some people can't get past 1 dan or 3 dan? What's the typical rate of progress?

There's no typical rate of progress. Some people it makes sense, some people it doesn't. Some people pick ...

Abyssinica wrote:But perhaps there are common fundamentals that everyone needs to learn to get passed these barriers?

I wonder what they are

Check out http://senseis.xmp.net/?RankAndWhatYouKnow

This will be hard to demonstrate without extensive work. It's easier to see just from year to year at the Congress. Simply put, if you pay attention to the movement of people in their ranks from year to year, you realize where the tiers are.

First, the strong players room. Nobody there is ever ...

The first is ability: some people have it, others don't. Most people are close to average. Only those who have it will reach the higher ranks.

Can you elaborate on what constitutes "ability"? Is this a function of intelligence?

How high can most people, with average ability, get?


The third is ...

clearly you're posting on reddit and here.

i put a response up there but i'll put an abridged version up here.

Most people will never become a dan.
At most some of those might become 1d.
With a lot of work, maybe 3d.
Afterwards the ceiling is 6d.

The simple evidence is provided by the people ...

Look at the statistics on long-term weight loss. It's truly miserable. Do we then say that most people who are obese simply do not have the potential to lose weight? It is a lost cause? It would be interesting to see the numbers, but I wouldn't be surprised if people who have lost 30 lbs. or more ...

There is a large gap between what is possible and what actually happens.

I recommend looking at EdLee's classic thread So.

Yeah, I love that thread. But I'm wondering if there isn't such a large gap, and it isn't really possible for most people to become that strong. Or are you saying people ...

I'm just curious about people's perspectives about this. Do you think there is a limit on how strong you can get?

Obviously time is a factor. Most of us probably don't spend more than 5-10 hours a week at the very most on go. But does that just slow down growth, or does reaching the very top ...