Chess Story

by Stefan Zweig

This lad has just one piece of knowledge in his blinkered brain—that he hasn’t lost a single chess game in months—and since he has no idea that there’s anything of value in the world other than chess and money, he has every reason to be pleased with himself.”

because the intellectual energies were corralled within a narrowly circumscribed field, even the most strenuous mental effort did not tire the brain, but rather increased its agility and vigor.

apparently there are hidden regulatory forces at work within us which automatically shut off anything that might become psychologically troublesome or dangerous.