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

(+) Yeah! (+)

Examples of things that count:
- woodworking
- sewing
- cooking (if you're actively trying to improve and learn techniques and you love the craft of it, and not just because you need to eat)
- coding
- mountain climbing
- brewing beer/wine
- gardening
- sports

Examples of things that don't count:
- passively consuming media: netflix, reddit, youtube, tv, sports, gamefaqs, anime, etc.
- video games
- sleeping
- drinking/eating out at restaurants
- physical fitness for its own sake (unless physical fitness is an active hobby where you try to learn new skills/knowledge and compete at an amateur level, i.e. not just because you feel the need to stay in shape)

Disclaimer: not interested in tenuous arguments centered around your hand-eye getting better through gaming or your knowledge of the columbian drug trade deepening because you watched Narcos
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Fffffuck no
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Reading (mostly non-fiction) and podcasts (history, culture, economics, news and politics)?
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Warhammer 40K minifigures

I'm learning painting and general crafting

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.
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Writing/creative pursuits
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Invading in Dark Souls 3.
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Yeah, video games
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my job involves learning and self improvement

but yes, I make a point of reading interesting things (at this point it's about 2/3 non-fiction), and I also write
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Yeh, comedy
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Yes, I go rock climbing 6 days a week
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Yep, stand up comedy. I hugely enjoy the creative process of crafting the material and figuring out what works and doesn't work with different audiences (for the sake of an example that you'll get, Glasgow student audiences are totally chill with any language, but at the Edinburgh Stand casually dropping the c-word sometimes seems to make the audience a bit offput) and studying the subtleties of other acts to improve.

Come and see me sometime :-p

I play instruments :3
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ArchiePeck posted...

Yep, stand up comedy. I hugely enjoy the creative process of crafting the material and figuring out what works and doesn't work with different audiences (for the sake of an example that you'll get, Glasgow student audiences are totally chill with any language, but at the Edinburgh Stand casually dropping the c-word sometimes seems to make the audience a bit offput) and studying the subtleties of other acts to improve.

Come and see me sometime :-p

It's probably the American tourists by my guess, can't imagine a scot being upset by that. Mind you, not many scots in Edinburgh.

And sure I'll come watch you! Have you got anything coming up? Fringe time...
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I draw and write

Like I create real compositions I don't just doodle lol (though i do doodle al ot)
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YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

I draw and write

Like I create real compositions I don't just doodle lol (though i do doodle al ot)

Got a link or exmaple of your work or too shy/careful to post here
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I'm at work so I don't have access to my stuff but here's the last doodle I did at work lol

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/205903143471415296/461881425944117249/20180628_061130.jpg?width=1060&height=597

and here's a finished piece (uploaded on instagram lol):

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/205903143471415296/459733313079476224/FB_IMG_1529679191035.jpg?width=597&height=597
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Reading/writing philosophy and poetry. Also learning German.
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does travelling count? lol
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Sure. I like to cook/bake. Paint, draw and write. I play bass [badly] as well. I spend more time than I'd care to admit creating sound/texture mods for games also; usually wargames.
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pinky0926 posted...

ArchiePeck posted...

Yep, stand up comedy. I hugely enjoy the creative process of crafting the material and figuring out what works and doesn't work with different audiences (for the sake of an example that you'll get, Glasgow student audiences are totally chill with any language, but at the Edinburgh Stand casually dropping the c-word sometimes seems to make the audience a bit offput) and studying the subtleties of other acts to improve.

Come and see me sometime :-p

It's probably the American tourists by my guess, can't imagine a scot being upset by that. Mind you, not many scots in Edinburgh.

And sure I'll come watch you! Have you got anything coming up? Fringe time...

Nothing over in Edinburgh over July (summer is tough for amateurs to get open spots because pros are taking them all to beta test their fringe material in the smaller clubs!) but will probably get some gigs for late August/September time again.

(And yes, asking "who here isn't from Scotland?" in Edinburgh usually gets all sorts of weird and wonderful answers!)

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

(._. )
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I'd say yes.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/community/CyricZ/contributions

Nearly 18 megs of it at last count. :)
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Been trying to perfect my steak skills and cocktails
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Does honing my skill at writing shitty fanfics count
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Why wouldn't video games count as an improvement?
Especially competitive, multiplayer games?

I'm just about to be done with my masters degree in Computer Science, so there goes coding.

And I play football (soccer) once or twice a week.
But I don't get it how would that be self-improvement since I've obviously reached my potential and I'm not getting any better.

GunmaN1905 posted...

Why wouldn't video games count as an improvement?
Especially competitive, multiplayer games?

video games help develop hand-eye coordination to some extent in children as they are growing up

but to an adult there's little but the feeling of accomplishment thanks to those dopamine hits
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YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

GunmaN1905 posted...

Why wouldn't video games count as an improvement?
Especially competitive, multiplayer games?

video games help develop hand-eye coordination to some extent in children as they are growing up

but to an adult there's little but the feeling of accomplishment thanks to those dopamine hits

And what's there to real sports except for feeling of accomplishment?
Not counting exercise in there because you can do that without playing any sport.

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
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Yes I study languages.
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Guitar, bass, drums, songwriting and recording.

Yeah, there's a couple things I do intermittently.

- Cosplay prop and accessory making for myself and those close to me.
- Modding games. Not just installing mods, but making them for myself. Because of this I've learned how to make 3D models, and a bit of C#. I offered to do a little Stardew Valley modding for CE back when I was binging on that last year but nobody was interested. *shrugs* My mods on nexus have done well though, although I'm not looking forward to having to update them for 1.3 when it's finished.

Plus some other artistic game related stuff. Just really brings out the artist in me.
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- Arcade restoration (has elements of woodworking, electronic repair, and sometimes art skills)

- Kiteboarding (still very new at this)

- Hiking/camping (always a new technique to learn)

- Weight lifting (not really much new to learn, but always trying to improve)

- Hunting (again not much new to learn at my level but limitless ways to improve)
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Getting into magick, feels like it could be a life long journey of learning. I wish I'd started earlier in life.
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gym / soccer
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Trying to teach myself guitar

That's it. >_>
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No, but here's a list of things I've wanted to make hobbies but got frustrated and quit or don't do regularly enough to improve:

Cooking
Piano
Weight lifting
Running
Photography
Chess
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Pinky, you forgot learning a language.
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Also why don't you consider physical fitness self improvement? Going to the gym is self improvement
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lmao of course not
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EpicMickeyDrew posted...

Pinky, you forgot learning a language.

I was just giving examples but sure that counts

EpicMickeyDrew posted...

Also why don't you consider physical fitness self improvement? Going to the gym is self improvement

Yes, although since it's so commonplace I wanted to leave it out of this poll to see what people might be getting up to other than the usual stuff
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Fair enough.
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pinky0926 posted...

Yes, although since it's so commonplace I wanted to leave it out of this poll to see what people might be getting up to other than the usual stuff

There we go.

I wanted to see what nonsense reason was gonna pop up for including sports but not exercise.
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Cooking
Creative writing
Playing guitar
Also my gambling improves me financially

LinksLiege posted...

pinky0926 posted...

Yes, although since it's so commonplace I wanted to leave it out of this poll to see what people might be getting up to other than the usual stuff

There we go.

I wanted to see what nonsense reason was gonna pop up for including sports but not exercise.

You're getting way too mad about a poll on gamefaqs

I was just curious to see what people get up to other than the usual sleep/eat/workout/go to bars like 98% of people do
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pinky0926 posted...

You're getting way too mad about a poll on gamefaqs

I wasn't mad, just wondering what the logic was.
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Does building gundam models count?
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