OtakuViking wrote:When you wake up, you are thinking go, even when you visit your friends house youi also take a go book. When you're idle, you're holding a go book. Do such things then 3 years later you must be an 8D.
This attitude I would call "extremely hard" for an adult. So I agree with Uberdude.
It reminds me of the time when I progressed from 2k to 2d. It happened in the course of a few months. I was playing a few games per week, long drawn out quality games, in a system with handicap based on the latest results. I was very keen to increase the gap with my opponent and spent many hours reviewing the game and draw lessons for the next one. Indeed, efficiency of stones was a major item in the analysis. I also had a large collection of easy problems which I browsed during idle hours. By the end of that period, I would indeed wake up and think about go. It lasted only those months though - there were other things in life I cherished, I had a job and a girlfriend ...
So, if you spend all your free time on Go and you spend it well, progress is inevitable and "easy". But the prerequisite isn't easy at all.
Anyhow, thanks for the comprehensive article: it is very interesting and useful.