Why do i start daydreaming when I try to learn something by reading?

[AA suited]

i have many poker books (ie: pot limit by reuben, theory of poker by Slansky, Harrington on Holdem, etc) just collecting dust.

I start to read them. after like 10 pages, my mind wanders to something else, like the movie opening this week, or i'm James Bond outwitting bad guys, or other stupid fantasy stuff. for every 15 min i read, i spend 30 min daydreaming.

I want to learn to do better, but yet i cant get myself to concentrate on reading. and it's not just poker. It's ANYTHING. even with a magazine article that more than 1 page long i start daydreaming about something else.

But yet if i'm learning with someone else (ie: taking a class with a teacher in front of me spoon feeding me the info), i do GREAT. I have BS in Computer Engineering and a MS in Management.

I also can't do online learning. I need someone in front of me.

So why do i have problems learning by myself? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

And any suggestions on how to overcome it since there arent any live poker classes in my area.

THX!

[gildwulf]

You probably have some level of ADD.

[ContactGSW]

Agree, same problem here, a real problem during med school. If you don't want to try drugs, develop intense short term session learning ability, crapper reading, flash cards etc. I suggest understanding and using ADD as I view it is an asset in many ways, rather than fighting it, especially in game playing situations.

[J Chap]

i have add too, and i'm wondering how you use it to your advantage in poker...

fascinating...

[AceHiStation]

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showfl...e=0&fpart=1

[ContactGSW]

Sry J Chap just got back, so if you are still around: People with ADD are capable of paradoxical intense submersion into tasks, ie I've always done well on standardized tests, I hate the idea of taking them but after the first question I'm quite unaware of outside circumstances and before I know it 4 or 6 hrs or gone, I feel the same way playing poker. I think many ADDers have a great ability of free association and can use this in gaming to keep opponents from predicting your behavior, and because I can't keep these damn numbers in my head I compensate by watching the players more and trying to develop any information I can. I work in a field that is dominated by newtonians and obsessive compulsives, and I haven't been able to deep an organized clean desk since first grade, but I do fine because I can answer and act on the most important question: What is wrong with this picture and how can I solve the problem in the quickest way, thereby going to the next problem to satisfy my need for constant stimulation. Also you have to learn to recognize when you are at a point when you can't apply those abilities of perception and learn to step out at that point. I don't think ADD is a disease for many of us (but I have seen pathological levels of it in kids that no doubt need intense intervention), its a talent that just doesn't fit in with the standard ways we school and work, too bad because its a huge waste of that talent.

[J Chap]

yo, ContactGSW, i should be PMing you at this point, but now i'm even more curious.

what field are you in?

i, too, have that free-association thing, and my good friend told me that in live games he absolutely cant read me, because i seem to simultaneously look like i'm going to fold, call and raise. in reality, i'm just spacing out...haha

but yeah, what we lack is called latent inhibition. which means what have is a very low threshold for being interrupted, i.e. a new stimulus often takes control of our entire attention span.

and to those saying ADD is a myth (e.g. Soko), i agree with you. it's not a you-have-it-or-you-don't thing. it's more just a collection of behavioral tendencies, that, like anything else, can be more exaggerated in some people than others. for some people, the magnitude of these tendencies is enough to interrupt their daily lifestyle (e.g. i often have no idea what somebody has just said when they finish saying something to me, in person or on the phone). so, these people sometimes get diagnosed, so they can try medications, which may or may not make things better.

i agree that it's gotten way out of proportion, and that everybody and their junior high daughter seems to have it, but if it gives me a nice sense of justification for my human shortcomings, hey, i'm down!

[Uglyowl]

[ QUOTE ]
i have add too, and i'm wondering how you use it to your advantage in poker...

fascinating...

[/ QUOTE ]

Called 8-tabling [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[asofel]

Sounds like you're an aural learner. Have you tried reading aloud? What about dvd's and other non-textual aids?

[ QUOTE ]
Sounds like you're an aural learner.

[/ QUOTE ]
Hehehe, you said aural...oh, wait...