Talks to Watch

Inner Game of Tennis

48K views · May 19, 2012 · 12:15 · 2 HN recommenders · 3 mentions · discussed 2015–2016

A 1970 demonstration of W. Timothy Gallwey, author of The Inner Game of Tennis, teaching a complete beginner to play tennis in about ten minutes. He chats with her, feeds balls and gives positive feedback instead of instruction.

Why Hacker News points people here: HN commenters use it as a vivid demonstration of learning by quieting the conscious mind, and recommend it alongside the book.

“This video of Timothy Gallwey teaching a woman how to play tennis. In 5 minutes.”HN comment, 2016

What Hacker News said 3

Strongly recommendsandy_pppSep 2016

“This video of Timothy Gallwey teaching a woman how to play tennis. In 5 minutes.”

Gallwey teaches a woman tennis in five minutes.

Full comment

this video This video of Timothy Gallwey teaching a woman how to play tennis. In 5 minutes. The book is one of the best I've ever read (go get it now), it's about mental focus, improvement by not trying and about not judging your results. I was sitting in front of a really difficult problem earlier today but I kept persisting at it even though at points I got frustrated ("I'm not sure I'm smart enough to do this...") I managed to stop thinking for a bit and try again without understanding the code fully and it ended up working. I'm not saying being intuitive always works with programming but sometimes if you feel out of your depth it can really help push you through.

in “The Inner Game of Everything: 1974 Tennis Book Is Still a Sensation” · view on HN
RecommendsleocNov 2015

“Obligatory Inner Game of Tennis TV feature”

TV feature on Inner Game of Tennis, including keeping eyes on ball.

Full comment

Obligatory Inner Game of Tennis TV feature: this video and specifically related to keeping the eyes on the ball: this video

in “How the 'Quiet Eye' Technique Makes Athletes More Coordinated” · view on HN
Cites itdeepnetMay 2015

“As a teacher he tries to distract the conscious mind so learning can take place.”

Gallwey distracts the conscious mind so learning can occur.

Full comment

Conversely the conscious mind can also make it harder to learn things. I refer to the "Inner Game of Tennis" by Tim Gallwey this video As a teacher he tries to distract the conscious mind so learning can take place.

in “Consciousness Began When the Gods Stopped Speaking” · view on HN