Maria Konnikova doesn’t buy the 10,000 hour rule—that theory popularized by Malcolm Gladwell that it takes at least 10,000 hours of serious practice to become a world-class expert at an activity. She believes she’s found a way to short-circuit it, and it involves marshmallows and poker.
Konnikova is a world-class writer—author of bestselling books including “Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes” and “The Confidence Game,” as well as a contributing writer for The New Yorker. You may have also heard her on podcasts, including a regular segment she does on The Gist called “Is That BS?” But something unexpected happened to her during the research for her current book, which is about chance.
She started playing poker for research. And she started winning. Big wins, including taking first place in a national tournament. All told, she’s pulled in more than $270,000, and she’s gone pro, as part of a team sponsored by a poker website.
That book is still in the works, though, and she is on the speaking circuit talking about the lessons she’s learned at the poker table. This week she spoke at SXSW EDU, explaining why she sees poker as part of the key to help remove strong emotions from decisions. It turns out our brains are pretty easy to fool, she says, but if you know more about how they work, you can find distancing techniques to cool emotions and master your domain.
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