Play chess.
It helps you think strategy before execution. It also helps you keep focussed on the bigger picture.
In the last 2 years, I have gone from being ranked 800ish points to now 1200 on chess.com and it has definitely developed my thinking.
It helps you think strategy before execution. It also helps you keep focussed on the bigger picture.
In the last 2 years, I have gone from being ranked 800ish points to now 1200 on chess.com and it has definitely developed my thinking.
I think Chess is ripe with lessons that apply to common, real life scenarios. Off the top of my head:
- early/mid/end game; you apply a different strategy based on the stage of the game you are in, relates to software product lifecycles.
- tempo; when your moves don't just profit, but set you up with momentum to continue making more good moves.
- zugzwang; being in a position where any move you make results in a loss.
- The value of your position can exceed the value of your material based on context.
- You can still play a game where you're down to a draw.
The list goes on :)
Come to think of it, the information asymmetry in starcraft that is lacking in chess would teach you a lot more lessons as well.
Strategy through the lens of chess results in local maxima and is thereby the worst approach to achieve better long term outcomes.
See also the Hierarchy of Disagreement, and old HackerNews favourite - https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Hierarchy_of_disagreement
The marginal utility of almost anything (cross fit, big muscles, abstract maths, jazz trumpet ability...) tapers off at the highest levels. OP is saying that there are gains in going from Elo 800 ("total novice, inconsistent playing tending to lose") to 1200 ("plays at baseline level consistently"), not that you should dedicate your life to chess to the exclusion of everything else.
I'd be willing to bet that Putin has a recorded Elo somewhere at least in the 1400s. For comparison, pros have 2000+ scores, the greatest champions (and computers) 2600+. A 400 point difference roughly means you're 10 times better.