If losing is the perfect opposite of winning, studying how not to lose is roughly equivalent to studying how to win. My personal experience dictates that if I am losing a lot and do not know why I will learn more from studying my losses. Once I know what the problems are I can study how other people win in those circumstances.
Except that Rizzo was focusing on some kind of psychological “need to lose”. When I go back and study my winning and losing backgammon games, my psychology isn’t the focus. I look for situations where, in retrospect, a better choice could have been made and then look to see if there was enough information in context to have enabled me to take that choice. I also sometimes catch situations where I wasn’t paying enough attention, and missed a move that I think I would have chosen if I had noticed it.
If losing is the perfect opposite of winning, studying how not to lose is roughly equivalent to studying how to win. My personal experience dictates that if I am losing a lot and do not know why I will learn more from studying my losses. Once I know what the problems are I can study how other people win in those circumstances.
Except that Rizzo was focusing on some kind of psychological “need to lose”. When I go back and study my winning and losing backgammon games, my psychology isn’t the focus. I look for situations where, in retrospect, a better choice could have been made and then look to see if there was enough information in context to have enabled me to take that choice. I also sometimes catch situations where I wasn’t paying enough attention, and missed a move that I think I would have chosen if I had noticed it.