Michael Birch Quotes

Writing is sort of like chess for me. You have to think carefully before you move, thinking, planning.

Life is very much about making the best decisions you can. So I think chess is very valuable.

By playing games you can artificially speed up your learning curve to develop the right kind of thought processes.

Beauty can't amuse you, but brainwork - reading, writing, thinking - can.

I obtain great satisfaction out of using my intellect.

Engineering stimulates the mind.

Philosophy is like trying to open a safe with a combination lock: each little adjustment of the dials seems to achieve nothing, only when everything is in place does the door open.

I like when my mind is being stimulated and challenged, and I'm forced to be creative.

I learned to play chess at a young age, and I think that's where learning to plan things out and put things in position, that was the best thing for me.

I just like the obstacle course of figuring out something.

If the kids get a good grasp of what the main lessons are for chess after two or three years of staying with the game, then you've given them brain food and you've given them a skill that can last them a lifetime.

Good thinkers always prime the pump of ideas. They always look for things to get the thinking process started, because what you put in always impacts what comes out.

To ask questions can become the laziest and wobbliest occupation of a mind, but when you must yourself answer the problem that you have posed, you will meditate your question with care and frame it with precision.

Chess helps you to concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules and take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment.

I'm raised to actually think, to use my brain.

I want to find material that piques my interest, keeps me outside the box and challenges me.

Your brain, like your tongue, is a muscle. Practicing thinking by yourself really helps develop your brain, which you need throughout your day. I like to practice my thinking in a darkened room, alone.

The broader the chess player you are, the easier it is to be competitive, and the same seems to be true of mathematics - if you can find links between different branches of mathematics, it can help you resolve problems. In both mathematics and chess, you study existing theory and use that to go forward.

What makes me happy is just keeping my brain challenged and stimulated and on its toes.

Many books require no thought from those who read them, and for a very simple reason; they made no such demand upon those who wrote them.

I'm a puzzle doer.

Our whole life is solving puzzles.

I only surround myself with people who are intellectually stimulating.

Think until it hurts.

If you have a therapist who agrees with your every word, then your brain isn't getting proper exercise.