Is chess a good way to spend time?

get in the car to play video games instead of doing so from your couch. 2 steps forward, 1 step back, i guess :p

edit: to be a little more on topic: hell no! but its awesome and fun!

@Sacmaniac
get kicked out for being too loud? Not what one usually associates with chess.
But maybe you mean like coffee chess:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RgPklVzdrw&t=64s

But it looks like the coffeeshop has banished them to sitting outside, lol.

As opposed to drugs and guns in the hood and GTA?

@snipermode said in #13:
> As opposed to drugs and guns in the hood and GTA?

I was going to go with "as opposed to playing angry birds or candy crush?"

I actually love chess I spend 2 hours with my sister over the board chess and online is about 2 hours too

I had this realization recently that for me, worldly knowledge is much more important than chess knowledge, so I stopped learning about chess. I think for me, learning how to play the game of life well is infinitely more valuable than learning the world of 64 squares. It’s more valuable than any title chess can offer me.

How does one learn to play the game of life? Well, I think one needs to read. A lot. Specifically read thought provoking books. So that’s what I’ve started doing in my free time.

I’d rather be titled in worldly knowledge than chess knowledge. I personally think that’s more valuable, because it contributes more directly towards me making the best decisions for my life.

I guess it just depends on your values. I value worldly knowledge and becoming an intellectual so I choose to pursue those subjects. For some people, these things are not as important so they choose to pursue other subjects. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. People are allowed to have differing values. That’s one of the things that makes the world vibrant and interesting.

So to answer your question - is chess a good way to spend time? It depends. What do you value in life? Does chess align with your values? If the answer is yes, then you have your answer.

Instead of staring at a chalkboard or reading books, just place yourself in front of a window looking out onto a busy street all day , if you want to learn about life. IMO, it's better to be street smart than book smart @CasualPlays

You can’t drink all the time.

@Sacmaniac said in #17:
> Instead of staring at a chalkboard or reading books, just place yourself in front of a window looking out onto a busy street all day , if you want to learn about life. IMO, it's better to be street smart than book smart @CasualPlays

That’s a very closed-minded approach. It implies that you already have everything within you, to understand the mechanics of how to make the best decisions in life. It closes off the possibility that others might have something useful to offer you. Books offer a window into another person’s consciousness. There is much to learn from understanding the perspective of others. To say otherwise would purely be closed mindedness, in my opinion.

you're both right. Language and books are some of humankind's most important inventions. They allows us to store up the knowledge we've accumulated so we are not (necessarily) condemned to reinvent the wheel over and over. On the other hand a book can take you only so far. You have to go out into real life and make things happen. Theoretical knowledge is useful only if you combine it with real world experience, and that is always uniquely your own.