often wrote:Let's take this apart:
Well, my usual complaint remains, ... , the absurd elitism of the players. Perhaps I am the elitist here, for not taking someone's amazing talent seriously enough.
I'm not sure where this complaint is coming from with examples in this first post.
However, I have always felt that there was a certain nightmare quality of taking something fun, and then exalting it to the point where it is no longer fun anymore. [...] I suppose these anxieties come from being told that I was fairly good at the game. I just started playing a lot though, maybe a year ago. I feel like I don't understand the game at all.
So you were told you were very good at the game, but now you are running into issues learning the game. Sounds like a common problem. If your issue is progression then start with a teacher, getting teaching games, or some books.
Even when I win I don't quite understand the strategy that I used, because I play intuitively and quickly. I also don't know if it was the right strategy, or what strategy is even going on.
So you don't spend enough time figuring out the moves, and then you wonder why you played moves that you don't understand.
All in all I think you're answering your own problems in this post.
First one: Ah, not sure? Have you seen Hikaru No Go? That kid Touya Akira is the most amazing brat ever. He only cares about Go so much he doesn't realize that having friends to play with is important, he's rich and adulated and amazing at Go, so he doesn't even realize that he's lonely. But this is a real representation of Japan. That's the little boy I would have to look up to, or some form of him. I speak a teeny bit of japanese. I've thought of studying it seriously instead of just learning words here and there from watching subtitled cartoons, horror movies, and samurai movies, but Japan is so far away...
second one: My issue is the nightmarish quality of exalting something to the point where it isn't fun anymore. Which you all defended admirably, it is still fun.
Ah, you analyzed that last one too quickly. No, my complaint was that Even while placing stones on the board, even if I win, I don't understand why I put them in that spot completely. It's like, I'll make a puzzle, and it'll look interesting, but I have no idea how I did it. I was wondering if other people ever felt this way, or if they absolutely knew how they did it. But it can't be to a certain extent, because the placement of the stones also depends on your understanding of the opponent's intentions. If you misread his stones, you lose. Read the stones. Ever heard Tommy? It's a rock opera by the Who about a deaf dumb and blind boy who is good at pinball.
Or is there a minimum dose or number of trips one has to have taken for this to happen? I guess even then I’ll be able to attest again 
