Good at logic, math, and computers, but horrible at Chess?

Page 1 of 3 [ 38 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next


Are you good at math, logic, and computer, but horrible at chess?
I'm good at both! 21%  21%  [ 8 ]
I'm good at logic, computers, and math, but bad at chess. 62%  62%  [ 24 ]
I'm good at chess, but bad at logic, computers, and math. 5%  5%  [ 2 ]
I'm hopeless at both. 13%  13%  [ 5 ]
Total votes : 39

SplendidSnail
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Jul 2017
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Posts: 887
Location: Canada

20 Dec 2017, 9:56 pm

When people find out how good I am at logic, math, and computers, they tend to think that I must be good at chess. But I'm awful at chess. When I play it, it is mentally really exhausting and I tend to do very badly.

Thinking it has to do with the fact that, although chess involves lots of logic, it also involves seeing the big picture and keeping track of lots of things at the same time and, although I'm good at logic, I have trouble seeing the big picture and I tend to lose track of things on the board.

Think that's common among those on the spectrum?


_________________
Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder / Asperger's Syndrome.


kraftiekortie
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 4 Feb 2014
Gender: Male
Posts: 87,510
Location: Queens, NYC

20 Dec 2017, 9:59 pm

I'm only "moderately" good at math-----and the math is primarily "practical" math.

Logic can irritate me sometimes. Pure syllogisms sometimes don't make practical sense.

I've never gotten really interested in chess.



jrjones9933
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 May 2011
Age: 55
Gender: Male
Posts: 13,144
Location: The end of the northwest passage

20 Dec 2017, 10:00 pm

I like tabletop games, but not chess. I can play badly.

I'm good at the other stuff.


_________________
"I find that the best way [to increase self-confidence] is to lie to yourself about who you are, what you've done, and where you're going." - Richard Ayoade


SuSaNnA
Pileated woodpecker
Pileated woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 28 Jul 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 183

21 Dec 2017, 4:00 am

Playing chess requires a lot of knowledge about chess.
Even if you are good at maths/ logic/ computers, you'd still need to read a lot of chess books in order to improve.

So it may be because you didn't read much books about chess.



naturalplastic
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Age: 69
Gender: Male
Posts: 33,873
Location: temperate zone

21 Dec 2017, 5:14 am

Nothing to do with autism. Most folks (NT and otherwise) I have meet who are good at chess are not mathletes, and vice versa.

Math and chess are totally different aptitudes.
Math, logic, and computers, are different aptitudes from each other.

And math isn't even the same as itself. Different branches of math differ from each other.

Folks in graduate programs in theoretical math often suck at doing arithmetic in their heads that high school drop outs (pi are squared? HELL NO! Pie are round. Cornbread are squared!) who run cash registers have no problem with.

I worked with an engineer at my inventory counting job. I could tell him that "three for eight dollars mean its 1.67 each" faster than he could figure it out, even though must have aced trig and calculus in school since he was an engineer (I never got past geometry and algebra).



EzraS
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Sep 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 27,828
Location: Twin Peaks

21 Dec 2017, 11:07 am

I believe I'm good at logic (which is a subjective appraisal) and I know I'm bad at the rest.



drawinglobster
Butterfly
Butterfly

Joined: 20 Dec 2017
Age: 64
Gender: Male
Posts: 12
Location: Yorkshire

21 Dec 2017, 2:18 pm

I'm good at logic (or perhaps I should say: I'm good at logic puzzles, but I'm not a logical person in the everyday sense), maths and computers.

I am not good at chess. I cannot remember standard responses to common openings, and I also get bored, lose my thread and make a near-random move just to avoid irritating the other player. And then I wonder how all my pieces got in each other's way.

In am good at backgammon though. I enjoy calculating the probabilities when practicable, plus I seem to have a feel for the game that I don't experience with chess.



renaeden
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Jun 2005
Age: 47
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,173
Location: Western Australia

21 Dec 2017, 4:43 pm

Computers I'm ok at. The rest, nope.

The last person who tried to teach me chess ended up throwing pieces at me in frustration.



Yo El
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 30 Dec 2016
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Posts: 271
Location: Netherlands

21 Dec 2017, 5:16 pm

Chess is mostly visual pattern recognition and moving/tracking objects in a visual 2 or 3d space. Logic, math, and computers have nothing to do with chess.



BTDT
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jul 2010
Age: 60
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,087

21 Dec 2017, 5:42 pm

I am good at math, computers, and chess. Never studied chess books. I learned by playing games with other people.



Leahcar
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 31 Jan 2016
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 259
Location: United Kingdom

22 Dec 2017, 7:16 am

I'm bad at logic, decent at maths and computers, and terrible at chess.
Don't know if it has anything to do with autism.


_________________
I'm sailing across Spectrum Sea, in my little boat.
The waters of the port were choppy. After I set off, there was a long, massive storm.
Years later, however, the sea calmed. I'm still on tranquil sea, but I'll never reach the Neurotypical Beach.


magz
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator

User avatar

Joined: 1 Jun 2017
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Posts: 16,283
Location: Poland

22 Dec 2017, 7:24 am

Yo El wrote:
Chess is mostly visual pattern recognition and moving/tracking objects in a visual 2 or 3d space. Logic, math, and computers have nothing to do with chess.

Well, maybe this is another factor why I suck at chess – I'm definitely non-visual.
In general, for me there is a great difference between logic games and strategic games. I'm great at coming up with a working logical solution but outsmarting an existing adversary is a totally different story.
Also, I easily get anxious if playing against someone. I'm anxious and confused about social relations in general and adding a competitive game on a top of this makes it unbearable.
So I avoid this kind of games.


_________________
Let's not confuse being normal with being mentally healthy.

<not moderating PPR stuff concerning East Europe>


Lost_dragon
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2017
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,738
Location: England

22 Dec 2017, 12:56 pm

I'm quite good with computers, although you'd certainly hope that to be the case considering I took IT as a subject that I'm currently still studying.

Maths I am horrendously bad at. Mental Abuse To Humans indeed. :wink:

However, I am good at basic logic such as completing logic puzzles. Especially those slider puzzles where you have to move the pieces around the board so that they are in the correct order, and make a picture at the end. I'm quick at those, much to my older sister's annoyance since she tends to be less quick at completing them.

One time she spent half an hour trying to complete one, so in frustration she bet me that I couldn't complete the puzzle she was stuck on, so she put it back to how it was originally, and two minutes later I entered the room and showed her the completed puzzle. :lol: She just sat there, quite shocked.

I enjoy jigsaws, and I'm fairly good at those "What comes next in this sequence of shapes?" questions, so logic regarding patterns I seem to have a skill at.

But when it comes to chess...yeah, I'm not great. Certainly a lot of room for improvement. I'm alright at find four though, one time I was playing against someone and I planned it so that towards the end of the game they would only be able to place their counter in one of the slots, and once they'd done that it was an automatic win for me as I could only go on the one above- making a diagonal line of four.

My plan worked, and they only realised that they'd been tricked when they were about to put their counter in.

"Wait, if I put my counter in, you win"

"Yep"

"But, I can only put my counter here, there's nowhere else left"

"Mwhahaha"

"Dammit".

:lol:


_________________
24. Possibly B.A.P.


Ashariel
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Jun 2012
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,779
Location: US

22 Dec 2017, 1:03 pm

I'm bad at chess too. I suspect it's a 'Theory of Mind' thing, having difficulty guessing the other person's thoughts, motives, point of view, and likely reactions.

Very similar to my difficulties with conversation... I can try to guess what's the right thing to say, but I have no idea how the other person will react, and the conversation quickly moves into check mate.



BeggingTurtle
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Jun 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,374
Location: New England

23 Dec 2017, 1:27 am

Failed elementary school math and English. Barely passed math last year in freshman year of college had I not cheated on my homework.
Chess doesn't require math. It's just anticipating decisions, not thoughts. Be prepared to plan moves at least 3 turns in advance.


_________________
Shedding your shell can be hard.
Diagnosed Level 1 autism, Tourettes + ADHD + OCD age 9, recovering Borderline personality disorder (age 16)


nouse
Raven
Raven

User avatar

Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Gender: Male
Posts: 115

23 Sep 2018, 6:40 am

SplendidSnail wrote:
When people find out how good I am at logic, math, and computers, they tend to think that I must be good at chess. But I'm awful at chess. When I play it, it is mentally really exhausting and I tend to do very badly.

Thinking it has to do with the fact that, although chess involves lots of logic, it also involves seeing the big picture and keeping track of lots of things at the same time and, although I'm good at logic, I have trouble seeing the big picture and I tend to lose track of things on the board.

Think that's common among those on the spectrum?

Hi as I analyze my thinking more and more I realize that I'm probably more in schizo spectrum than in autism spectrum.

Anyways I usually miss the details. Same problem but for opposite reason (this is very characteristic in schizo and autism spectrum conditions where behaviour might seem the same but reason differs). I can't see the board pieces. I'm hopeless at anything considering number of visual details. I suck at finding required item in a picture so go figure... :roll: