Current Events > Do you have a hobby that involves some kind of learning / self-improvement?

(+) Yeah! (+)

no
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Im teaching myself to oil paint and draw. Also, Im working on my first novel. Ive already got short stories published so thats he next step.
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other than the will to take care of a dog and vidya games i have nothing.
i want to walk her so bad :(.
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YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

GunmaN1905 posted...

And what's there to real sports except for feeling of accomplishment?

>team building
>communication skills
>thinking strategically/tactically in a real environment
>spatial awareness
>better hand eye coordination development
>overall fitness (tho you managed to handwave away one of the biggest positives of sports)
>socializing
>feeling like you're part of a bigger cause

these are important to our human psyche
you have to wonder why people who have never done sports, don't exercise, eat horribly, and don't talk to people are depressed

and i know you're gonna say playing multiplayer games does the same thing, but it's really not the same - or at least, the effects are not of the same magnitude than if you were out there running/moving about

Aside from the fitness point, yes it is the same.
Talking as someone who's been playing both sports and competitive games for many years.

Bjj and kickboxing. I'd like to have more hobbies, just hard to find the time
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Playing guitar.

@Joelypoely posted...

Reading/writing philosophy and poetry. Also learning German.

What level are you at German? Want to learn together?
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shitposting on gfaqs
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painting - oil and acrylic. I will get into water eventually but it has different techniques.

home remodel - if that counts. ive spent the last 7 years turning my home from a shit hole that should burn down to a nice home.

auto repair/tinkering - i work on my stuff that is out of warranty.

music - i can sort of play guitar and bass. used to be in a number of shitty garage bands as a bass player. every 6 months or so i pick it up for a month or so my skills don't totally disappear. ive been thinking of picking up an alto sax or trumpet. I played sax as a kid.

woodworking - haven't made anything in a couple of years though. last thing i made was a nice entertainment center.
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pinky0926 posted...

sopfed posted...

Reading (mostly non-fiction) and podcasts (history, culture, economics, news and politics)?

I would say "yes" if you're actively pursuing new literature and consider it an important and central part of your development, and "no" if you just pick up a book when you're bored or listen to podcasts when you're driving or something.

Reading for whatever reason vastly improves yourself. And increases brain activity short term and long term(if you read over a period of years).
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Physical fitness absolutely does involve self-learning and improvement. You have to be consistent and dedicated to get any kind of gains, and there's a method to improvement as you could be working out incorrectly and hurt your body.

In any case, I've been dabbling with

- Boxing
- coding
- Japanese
- Cooking (though my knife skills and hot hands have deteriorated since I left the kitchen)

YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

UltraDeku posted...

Does drawing and improving my art skills count? I'm getting better at drawing a human body.

classical art training is dead
just do your own thang brother

>be me
>is self taught
>sucks at drawing
>fancies himself an artist

(._. )

As someone who can't draw, this is slightly upsetting. I took a computer animation course where it was basically building a physics engine and then using it to create scenes, I found that I had a really rough time creating "scenes". I would make objects, and then see how they react to the new mechanics we implemented, pat myself on the back for a job well done and call it a week. What the best people do, they have a vision on what they want to implement and they execute it with incredible skill.

For instance, for an assignment where we were implementing Rigid body mechanics, I made a scene where was a cog seemingly driving other cogs. We didn't implement collision detection at the time so I took some liberties and thought it was great. Then I saw another guy's piece of work, it was basically a winter wonderland! It was brimming with color with snow flakes floating in the wind with the trees bending in that direction. It was beautiful!

Anyways, the point I'm trying to make is that you clearly have a vision and in what you execute and they genuinely look good. As someone who can't draw without a computer, don't say you can't draw, you can.
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I play bass. Been working on building one also.
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sculpting
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I am a hobbiest programmer and computer architect.

I actually probably write more code at home than at work. At work it's always get this assembly to link, gain access to this system, schedule a password change, all that crap that rips the heart from your chest and crushes your soul.
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I still get the urge to make art, but i get tired of starting things i never finish. Or at the other end of the spectrum, becoming fixated on projects i should just move on from.

Also, my artistic drive seems to be fed mostly by negative emotion, and i've been pretty happy with my life these past few years.
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Drone racing, and Java development by far
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learning chinese

it's really a great language to learn and it gives me a reason to go out and meet new people. there's a decent amount of mandarin speakers where i live so it's not too difficult to meet people who speak the language natively. in contrast, when i was learning german, it was near-impossible to find any native speakers, especially my age. and that's even considering my city is known for its german heritage.....
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I enjoy cooking and want to learn more about baking bread.

I would also consider going to the gym/fitness training a form of self-improvement. Especially if its part of one's daily routine.
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Everything I do ends up a hobby. If I am going to do something I am going to excel at it. A small list:

Motorcycling:
Not just putting around on a Hardley Ableson either. I work on my form and corner entry, throttle control, etcetc ad nauseum infinity. Infinitely more rewarding than simply driving.

Dirtbiking/Quadding: similar to motorcycling while adding in poor traction conditions and a much higher level of physicality. Wrestling a dirt bike around for 4 hours is exhausting.

Mechanics: everything I own, I fix myself. If I wasn't a damn good Carpenter, I'd be a damn good mechanic.

Vehicle modification: this is separate from the last one as it's a different game to me. Rather than simply fixing them, I also change them. Whether it's a driveline swap, a suspension swap, a frame fix or putting seats from an 01 Chev and mirrors from an 06 Powerstroke onto a 95 Dodge, I'll give it a shot. Huge knowledge base required here, as every modification is unique in it's problems and solutions. They often involve welding, metalworking, machining, and a massive amount of planning and problem solving.

Woodworking and general Carpentry:
My career is in this field, so I don't know if it counts, but I'd say so. I'd say I'm very skilled at this.

Welding: I love melting pieces of metal together.
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kingdrake2 posted...

other than the will to take care of a dog and vidya games i have nothing.
i want to walk her so bad :(.

I hear ya. But I have 2 dogs.

Maybe I should try to take up a productive hobby, but life always seems to get in the uhhh way.
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VoightKent posted...

lmao so many liers on CE

Sounds like someone has a very boring life...

Which one is so outrageous it sounds like someone is lying? Unless I missed something these are all very attainable hobbies. It's not like someone said they love to go treasure hunting in buried cities
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Been learning German for almost a year now.
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@pinky0926 why dont video games count? Getting grand master in starcraft is a massive accomplishment
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awesome999 posted...

@Joelypoely posted...

Reading/writing philosophy and poetry. Also learning German.

What level are you at German? Want to learn together?

I'm only a couple of months into it. I know most of the useful nouns and verbs but I can't quite comfortably string complex sentences together yet. What resources have you been using to learn German? I've purely been using Duolingo thus far but should probably diversify a bit.

@awesome999
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Learning Spanish
Photography
Hiking
Rock climbing
Disc Golf
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@Joelypoely posted...

awesome999 posted...

@Joelypoely posted...

Reading/writing philosophy and poetry. Also learning German.

What level are you at German? Want to learn together?

I'm only a couple of months into it. I know most of the useful nouns and verbs but I can't quite comfortably string complex sentences together yet. What resources have you been using to learn German? I've purely been using Duolingo thus far but should probably diversify a bit.

@awesome999

Not him obviously but Duolingo, Assimil, German youtube videos (LearnGermanWithAnia and EasyGerman are both great), listen to a lot of German music (Die rzte, Die Toten Hosen, Sportfreunde Stiller, Broilers, Madsen), get some easy stories on Amazon (possibly free if you have a Kindle/Fire). Having good German friends also helps (in my case), or you can use various apps/sites to talk to native speakers.

I also wanna start using Anki but I'm too lazy to manually put vocab in (which everyone says is the best way to do it :P)
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yea I do drawing/painting and some programming stuff. I start to feel bored and unproductive if all I do is consume media
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RebelElite791 posted...

Not him obviously but Duolingo, Assimil, German youtube videos (LearnGermanWithAnia and EasyGerman are both great), listen to a lot of German music (Die rzte, Die Toten Hosen, Sportfreunde Stiller, Broilers, Madsen), get some easy stories on Amazon (possibly free if you have a Kindle/Fire). Having good German friends also helps (in my case), or you can use various apps/sites to talk to native speakers.

I also wanna start using Anki but I'm too lazy to manually put vocab in (which everyone says is the best way to do it :P)

Those are some fantastic ideas thanks.
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Joelypoely posted...

TeaMilk posted...

Not him obviously but Duolingo, Assimil, German youtube videos (LearnGermanWithAnia and EasyGerman are both great), listen to a lot of German music (Die rzte, Die Toten Hosen, Sportfreunde Stiller, Broilers, Madsen), get some easy stories on Amazon (possibly free if you have a Kindle/Fire). Having good German friends also helps (in my case), or you can use various apps/sites to talk to native speakers.

I also wanna start using Anki but I'm too lazy to manually put vocab in (which everyone says is the best way to do it :P)

Those are some fantastic ideas thanks.

You're welcome! (even though you quoted the wrong poster's name lol)

Deutsch ist wirklich die schnste Sprache der Welt. Viel Glck!
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Fixed it LOL. Good luck to you also.
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Just music and drawing/painting.

I'm pretty good at music and never have a hard time learning a new instrument but am just ok at art.

I write but it's hardly for learning/self-improvement, lol.
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continuing to learn spanish
painting (acryllic right now, although everyone is trying to get me into oil)
I suck at music and picked up a harmonica for funsies, it's fun trying to recreate movie themes and stuff even though I still suck (my dog will howl along with me)
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Taekwondo

On the other side of the spectrum, playing piano

If it counts I go to the gym to relive stress. Plus its a fun, cheap hobby.
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