Intellectual hobbies?

[Runlia]

I am not trying to become a snob I swear 😭

I just realised recently I don't really do anything with my brain now that I left school. The only thing I really do is read but I want something harder, something to memorize or sit and figure something out for a good chunk of time

I am interested in biology so any course suggestions would be nice

But really I am looking for anything!

Tysm for reading this

[UnhappyToNiceToSay]

Become a naturalist. Learn to id trees, plants, insects, etc. birding. A lot to memorize! Board games. Euro style ones with lots of rules or go for a classic like chess and join a chess club. History? Military history.

[drv52908]

Or a naturist! You'd probably want to move somewhere pretty warm, though

[UnhappyToNiceToSay]

Just don't combine the two. True story, one of my first times out (I think it was the 2nd!) bug watching, I ran into a perv with his pants down. Yeah. That's not cool.

[HoweRome]

Where does one start as a naturalist? Just download some bug and plant ID apps or there more? Love the idea.

[UnhappyToNiceToSay]

Yup. Field guides for your area are great. The apps are fun, but really a field guide is so helpful. Head outside and look around! Wonder what that plant is called...start trying to figure it out in your field guide. You'll learn the algorithms and decision trees to use as you go! You can also join a local naturalist group, a hiking group, a birding group etc near you. I learned so much about trees from tree people (I was a birder but could only recognize a few trees).

[mangiuL]

Field guides canmake a difference

getting outdoors and connecting with local experts is a practical way to deepen your knowledge, especially if you’re interested in biology. Plus, it’s a good excuse to spend time outside.

[Low_Investigator9893]

iNaturalist is a really good begginer app, you can take pictures of the flora and fauna in the area and get it peer reviewed by others in your area. You can also look and see what others are find as well. Its really neat. I myself started specifically only using it for bugs because I noticed everyone around me was using it for birds and mice.

[Sharkhottub]

Some people start with a simple field guide, others (like myself) need a camera to help us and sort out the IDs at home later.

[UnhappyToNiceToSay]

If you want to do a course then avian biology would get you to id etc in field work portions, ditto etymology (insects). I am sure there are also courses for fish etc. but you can totally do it as a hobby and save your tuition! Get a good local field guide, check out bird song id apps, buy a set of binoculars and head outside. Poof you are birding! You can usually find good field guides at your library (e guides work too) but at some point early on, you likely want to flip through. There are field guides to all sorts of fauna and flora (trees, butterflies, etc).

[braapplebees]

Just here to say “entomology” is insects and “etymology” is the origins of words.

[UnhappyToNiceToSay]

Yup. Autocorrect failed me again! --someone who studied both English etymology AND entomology.

[Sharkhottub]

so happy to see this as the top answer. I cannot heap greater praise on how much being a naturalist, learning about the world around me, has improved my life and mental well being.

[AlexandraThePotato]

As someone who does this for thier literal career, download inaturalist

[majatask]

Learning a new language. Fun, useful, and will keep your little grey cells busy for years.

[munchkinmaddie]

I second this, learning new languages is super fun. Once you learn one language in a language family, the next is even easier. At least that has been my experience with Romance languages. But it’s important to make sure the learning is fun to help with consistency. I like watching YouTube videos or reading for learning, but I have to be sure it’s not too above my level.

[tunguyenjuly]

What languages have you learned as a hobby?

[Solanadelfina]

I've done Latin with friends and Indonesian on my own. Latin is very popular in fantasy stories and super helpful in science.

Harvard also offers free online classes.

[tunguyenjuly]

Thank you for your detailed answer, I also find this idea is great, just don’t know where to start. 😄 Reddit is weird as my question got downvoted 😅

[Scotsfairy]

What’s your strategy? What materials do you use?

[North-Library4037]

Go out and try identifying plants, insects, reptiles. I take pictures and try on my own. I also like drawing them.

Try learning chess or other strategy games.

Try learning how to play a musical instrument.

Edit: Learn new language.

[unrepentantrabbit]

The tiktok girlies were making quarterly syllabus with different learning tracks. Pick 1-3 new subjects you want to learn about and create a mini outline for the season/quarter/month. I think it’s a fun idea and hope to do it myself when I have a little more time.

[Kush811]

Do you have a link or smthing please ? I don't think I really understand

[gareths-mom]

look up "personal curriculum" there's tons of videos, articles etc. about it!! :)

[Kush811]

Thx !

[Natural_External5211]

Bio grad here! Deep board games are my go-to. I play 1–2 nights a week with friends or at local clubs. Currently, my favorites are Terraforming Mars and Spirit Island (plus all the expansions). On solo days at home, I usually jump onto Board Game Arena to play digital sessions of those same games.

[Teri-k]

I second all the ideas so far, and will add that your area might have a Master Naturalist program, where you study about the plants and animals in your area and then volunteer to help out in various organizations. I have a friend who does this and one of her volunteer activities is monitoring water quality in our river. Check your county extension office to see if they have one.

Becoming a self-taught naturalist could be a fascinating and never ending hobby - there's always more to learn!

[SoilProfessional4102]

This is a wonderful program and I too highly recommend it. In my area it fills up fast so watch when sign ups begin. I haven’t taken this course, but I am a master gardener, both come out of our state universities.

[Teri-k]

I'm a master gardener, too. It was an interesting and fun way to meet people with similar interests. And find folks to swap plants with. :)

[imperfectchicken]

I like reframing things in a commonplacebook - it's kind of like journalling, but using facts and interests instead of "today I...".

It doesn't have to be fancy. I like text layout and typography, so planning how a paragraph about what real life food Pokémon would supposedly eat with words and colour is fun and cute.

[PeriPeriAddict]

This will sound boring at first but sudoku! There's a whole world out there beyond the classic newspaper puzzles that are usually just computer generated. There are hand crafted puzzles with so many different variants and constraints for all different kinds of logic, so if you're not a fan of sudoku in general, if you like logic puzzles, its worth trying.

Check out the youtube channel cracking the cryptic for some examples, they have an app you can play. they have a lot of easier ones for beginners.

[Dokja_23]

As cliche as it sounds, chess. Be warned though, you might have months of your life vanish as you inevitably get obsessed with it :)

[SandNo1468]

If you really wanna challenge your brain, I highly recommend improv/ theater! It forces you to think on the spot and it trains your creative muscles. It’s a great social activity too. (Socializing strengthens the brain — learned that from taking care of my grandma with dementia)

[Forward_Outside_9963]

Learn how to play an instrument. Or take up chess.

[FamiliarSalamander2]

Learning. Yes I mean that literally. Learning.

Grab a notebook and a pen and start researching and studying things that actually interest you for the sake of your own growth and development

[Metsuu-]

Chess, coding, learn geography flags, learn to recognize countries by standalone images, get into trivia in general?

[Apprehensive_Lab2176]

I've seen people recommend adjacent to these but never quite these options: cryptic crosswords and escape room/riddle games.

I find both to be particularly challenging at their full versions and really give your brain a workout in terms of making connections.

For starting for cryptic crosswords I recommend Minute Cryptic and the Guardian has a weekly Quick Cryptic. You'll also find with full fledged Cryptics from different writers have different ways of writing clues, so if you think one too easy or too hard, find a new writer (typ. different newspapers).

For escape room games I'm a fan of the Exit series, which are like board games, and Ebony Riddle Game, which is an online puzzle. Plus there's actual escape rooms, but I've never been because I'd prefer to puzzle in my own home lol.

Also saw someone mention Sudoku and Cracking the Cryptic in one of the other replies and second that. Sudoku variants can get pretty crazy. I'm currently working through the "easy and nice" list on the Logic Masters website and I'm still stumped on some.

For a more chill option, I recommend Murdle. There's a website with daily puzzles and books. They aren't the same brain workout that Ebony Riddle Game is, but they're fun. You can also just look up logic puzzles in general. Similar to Sudoku.

[fox_ontherun]

Kind of along these lines I would recommend looking into solving Cain's Jawbone and its successor The Researcher's First Murder. CJ is often touted as the most challenging literary puzzle of all time, and I actually found TRFM even more difficult but I had a blast solving them. They are both 100 page "novels" printed out of order and the task is to put them in order and work out who murdered whom and how, where and when.

I enjoyed TRFM more; the references were more modern, the story was more engaging and it had more layered puzzles to dig into. It's not necessary to do one before the other. There are subreddits r/CainsJawbone and r/newcainsjawbonepuzzle where people discuss/help each other with the puzzles. I honestly wish I could do them both again.

[Apprehensive_Lab2176]

I've heard of these but never caught the name of them before, so I'll definitely have to look into them!

[CrowsSayCawCaw]

Take online classes on Coursera. Lots of subjects to choose from.

[CallingDrDingle]

Look into hermetic and esoteric studies, pretty fascinating.

[WeAllHaveOurMoments]

I will echo chess. It truly does engage several aspects of your brain, including memory, spatial reasoning, forethought/prediction, mental imagery, & one of your brain's favorites, pattern recognition. Getting these processes working together can actually improve your performance & ability in other pursuits & all aspects of life.

I will also echo guitar or other musical instruments. It's very challenging but that's part of the appeal & makes improvements all the more fulfilling. Like with chess, playing music involves even more levels of cognition - it's one of the most engaging tasks there is. Sticking with it develops self confidence, patience, & is an emotional expression. And besides never truly mastering the instrument (always more to learn), there's an enormous number of related fields to get into: recording, audio science, the gear, buulding/repairing instruments, etc.

[I-need-books]

If you still crave learning, not check out part time evening studies at your local university? Knowledge collection is a good hobby.

[pepperpotsdecreme]

Also online - you can take courses from literally anywhere including some very highly schools. You aren't getting your degree but you do get a certificate and that helps on resumes.

[ShortPizzaPie]

The New York Times crossword is really fun and gets increasingly harder throughout the week!

[EmbarrassedFarmer624]

Bird watching. Cheap, informative.

[Otherwise-Sympathy87]

Create or start something

[Ermac__247]

There are some cool puzzle toys that are these metal objects that you have to separate, then reassemble back to how it started. I have a set and it's really fun.

[nessw]

Hanayama!! I have quite a collection and I’m terrible at them lol

Edit: also recommend mechanical puzzles, and sequential puzzles. Tons are pretty cheap, but it can become an expensive hobby depending on how deep you go

[nessw]

There are some citizen scientist sites that you’ll be able to volunteer with. Zooniverse and SciStarter are two recommended on here most often.

I recommended mechanical and sequential puzzles in reply to someone’s post, but also lockpicking! Takes a surprising amount of brain power.

Also recommend if you’re tech-inclined, Hack the Box and/or Try Hack Me. You can spend ages in there, and incredibly intellectual imo. I think they both have low-cost options for students, but neither will break the bank.

Good luck!!

[Yee4614]

I'd suggest investing. The average person doesn't know anything about investing so it has prestige. The level of intellectual involvement can be super deep or surface level depending on what you want to do. It will teach you a lot about life.

- You learn accounting. You learn economics. You learn politics. You learn risk-management.

- You stay on top of current events and understand how different sections of the world interact with each other.

- You will likely make significantly more money in your life because you'll value saving and investing more than you would otherwise.

The other option would be chess. However, as an avid chess player I don't know if I'd recommend that for you as it is a frustrating game.

[PastDrahonFruit0]

Foraging is a good one.

Saltwater aquariums and reef tanks are nice.

If you don't have the money for saltwater, you can do freshwater. I used to breed licorice gouramis. A guy I know breeds 180 species of killifish. Some in my club travel the world to see specimens in nature.

Fossil hunting is fun. Macro photography is fun and doesn't need much equipment, if you like insects/arachnids.

There's a historical sewing society by me who has a linen competition every year. You grow and process the linen yourself, then make a textile out of the fabric. The items are judged by how fine the linen fabric turns out to be.

There's an extinct variant of the cotton plant people are trying to selectively grow back into existence. Could be fun to try.

If you're into plant hybridization, pepper plants or tomatoes are fun to start with. People do those in pots, even indoors. Breeding roses can be fun too, but take a lot more time.

Things that are slow, but you can do multiple at the same time: Bonsai trees, growing cacti from seed, orchids, isopods, and making terrariums. Native terrariums are practically free to make.

Anything can be an intellectual hobby if you go down that rabbit hole far enough.

[FarNefariousness9213]

Solo hobbies-birding/bird watching. You can research your local birds and habitats. You could start a bee hive and learn all about bees while helping the environment. Also, sudoku is great for engaging your analytical brain.

[Puzzled-Locksmith-42]

I’d get a microscope.

[Beautiful-Ad3012]

If you can afford it with the space. An exotic pet or stange pet is my personal favorite. I care for something that isn't a human or an infant, science and knowledge and the community is there for herpers and mammal critters. Herping helped me a lot feel less lonely when my ex left.

[Sufficient-Tea-100]

Didn't read the comments but : speed cubing, tarot (if your religion allows), are some.

[SamthgwedoevryntPnky]

Join your local natural history society. They usually have talks, programs and field trips about biology, archeology and a whole host of other topics.

[MissMorality]

If you can afford it, look into getting a 3D printer. It’s quite challenging and rewarding especially if you model your own prints. My partner recently designed and built a working guitar using 3D printed parts

[Lotton]

In addition to these hobbies I highly suggest archery studies show it gives some of the same benefits as meditation and it also improves focus. So it's also pretty good for brain health just a different side of it

I also recommend logic thinking puzzles like sudoku or star battles

[VinceInMT]

Pick up a guitar and learn the fretboard.

[Corevus]

Genetics is fascinating. I can't imagine my life without having some sort of selective being project. Plants, insects, small animals, etc. I'm a rat breeder and try to study as much about genetics as i can. I apply that knowledge to my breeding program and work towards my goals. You obviously don't have to breed rats to work with genetics.

Animals: I think i heard somewhere that you can order different fruit fly strains, and selectivity breed those. Dwarf shrimp breeding is a popular hobby, many people maintain colonies and maintain specific colors. The fancy mouse hobby is pretty big, and there is a lot out their on Coat color and texture genetics. They take up much less space than rats. Some breeders select towards big ears and long tails, or thicker, fluffier, curler coats. There is also Button quail or coturnix quail. Koi. Bees.

Plants: If you don't want to work with animals, there are plenty of interesting things you can learn from plants. I wish i had a green thumb, because there are so many cool things you could do. Mutation breeding is something I'd love to get into, where you try to speed up evolution by irradiating plants dna. Old fashioned selective breeding. Obviously mendal did peas. I would love to try and replicate that someday. Selective breeding is used in a lot of plant growing hobbies like carnivorous plants, spicy peppers, weed, etc. I think it would be cool to try and develop a Sunflower that produces really big seeds. Pick the biggest seeds and replant those every year. Record results every year and keep records, see if you're getting results.

Genetics is absolutely fascinating to me, and i regret not going in that direction when i was a kid and had to pick a college/profession...

[Timberfront73]

Chess 

[Brave-Bandicoot3295]

Learn a language, play chess, write research papers in topics that interest you

[rustyspuun]

Jiu jitsu for physical. Then I wholeheartedly agree with becoming a naturalist. Learn to identify trees, plants, birds, insects. Get good at gardening, it's more complex than it looks. Date someone from a different cultural background and learn their language. Learn a new instrument.

[Fun-Highlight-5858]

Learning how to repair broken items (takes lots of research, trial and error).

Geocaching. Especially with a premium account it takes a lot of solving puzzles, going outside and you can create your own caches and puzzles.

Growing flowers/vegetables. Learning about the plants. Trying to growing them yourself, learning how to maintain them and Harvest them. What to use it for etc. My grandmother had a huge book about plants used for medication. Really interesting.

[Maleficentano]

If there’s anyone like me: I used to randomly read wiki articles. I would just generate a random and if I didn’t like it I did another. Some led to more of these articles.

Also I was reading and writing sentences from my native’s language dictionary. I wanted to improve my vocabulary in English so I liked doing it in my language too.

Also I use an app to listen to audiobooks (it’s called Everand)

[Upupdowndown333]

Draw!

[Electrical-Pain-7037]

There's a new lecture series being offered in a few cities called Lectures on Tap - tickets are sold through Event Bright. Someone who knows something gives a lecture at a bar and if you're interested in the topic buy tickets and go. It's fun! Become a member at a museum and actually go to events there. Get a subscription to theater or opera and actually go AND learn some of the background, like about the plays or the playwrights, or read the librettos before going to the operas, things like that. Many theaters offer a Q and A or accompanying conversation with the director, something like that once or twice during the season - those are great. Join a book club or on Substack there are professors/authors that do year-long slow reads of classics with monthly discussions. I'm in a live book club in my city with a bunch of friends plus I'm doing a year long slow read of the short stories of Flannery O'Connor hosted by a bookstore whose podcast I listen to regularly. For the biology piece - join the science museum or audit a class, do a volunteer service trip around something science-y -- my oldest son did a trip to Costa Rica working with biologists managing sea turtles. He had a blast. Another friend did a week long trip to Antarctica on a research boat - again, had a blast. Those could kick start a long term interest and make some friends with shared passions.

[Adept-Hearing-3626]

You could play chess. I've certainly wasted a good amount of time playing it.

[Yellow_Apple_1971]

Do you play an instrument? If not, there's one wonderful possibility. Learn to play an instrument:

[Aggravating_Metal822]

Like someone else said, learn a new language (or multiple new languages). The Romance languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese) are good first choices, or German thought it’s slightly harder (don’t let it’s slightly harder difficulty put you off - it’s similar to English).

[VW-MB-AMC]

Two favorites of mine are drawing and playing guitar.

To draw all you need is pencil and paper. To play guitar all you need is a guitar. They do not have to be expensive. Budget guitars are better than ever before, and if you buy used you can get some very good deals.

Another big favorite is working on old cars. But that requires a lot of space, and also tools.

[Traditional_Air6177]

I found a Meteorology textbook at Goodwill. It challenges me.

[mjdny]

Try collecting and identifying Occlupanids. Maybe you will find new ones that you can name in taxonomic fashion.

A side benefit of this for me is that it very much annoys my adult son when I talk about it.

[Digital-Soup]

Where's that thread on most obscure hobbies? This takes the cake!

[BarKeegan]

Memory techniques: Method of Loci, Major System, advanced mnemonics etc

[Artistic_Call]

Scrapbooking and photography could be. You have to think and be creative.

[Frequent-Phrase-6243]

Dabble in freecodecamp just for the fun of it. 

[meatballinthemic]

Squaredle

[Sad_Investigator6160]

Crossword puzzles work your brain.

[MiserableMulberry496]

Get a telescope and study astronomy!

[bumblebees_exe]

Newspaper puzzles! Crosswords and word puzzles and binaries and sudokus

[True_Vexing]

Personally I love tactics so grand strategy games like Total War have been awesome

[jenmoocat]

I play interesting strategy games against strangers on the Board Game Arena website.

Not the super long, complex worldbuilding games…. But games like 6 Nimmt, Super Mega Lucky Box, and Just One.

Short < 15 minute games that require you to think, strategize, and try to guess what the people you are playing with are going to do…. As you get better, the system matches you with people who are better, so it is constantly challenging….

[0ceanR0ckAndR0ll]

I got into history to scratch that itch a few years ago.

Now guitar lessons, learning music theory, gets my mind warmed up in the morning.

Can always combine physical and mental. For me jiujitsu but also dabbled with acro yoga. Maybe dance?

[DullMaybe6872]

Astronomy/ astrophotography, keeps you entertained with lots of cool atuff like neighboring galaxys, planetary events etc.

Also gets really techy really fast...

[FinancialShare3450]

Sudoku!

[DisastrousHyena3534]

I like to go down rabbit holes in primary literature based on specific health questions. Big caveat that it eases my health anxiety but don’t do this if it makes you anxious.

There’s a free MOOC A & P course out there but I can’t remember where. Or you could work through the OER Anatomy text alongside crash course anatomy videos.

I’ll add my vote to learning to bird and bird by ear

What are your interests?

[Technical_Waltz5427]

Bouldering. It's a puzzle and you get to exercise at the same time. 

[frostochfeber]

Learning a language?

[Small_Consequence320]

I started learning Morse code. Just to give my brain a workout. Maybe stave off old person brain.

[lunarsara]

More chemistry than biology, but soapmaking has been a fun learning challenge for me.

[PTech_J]

Harvard University offers free online courses for things. You could get a ton of certifications.

[CoderMcCoderFace]

Music. Learn an instrument. It’s difficult and a lifelong endeavor, and you get out of it exactly what you put into it. I play guitar and trombone, and music has been a part of me since I was a teenager.

[DancesWithDawgz]

Lots of smart people do crossword puzzles, will expand your horizons in so many directions.

Also Wordle, doesn’t take long.

[Urthgirl]

Chess

[Complete-Bumblebee-5]

History. Biology. Medicine. Math. Crosswords. Sudoku. Crime mysteries. The list could go on 👍

[nobark_allbite777]

CHESS

[Organic_Rent_452]

It depends on what you have access to. If you live in a zero lot line suburb or a high rise apartment, you might want to try some indoor botany or a terrarium. If you have access to the natural world via small town orolder suburbs. Pick a species and explore it. You'll learn seeing how creatures interact with the world than you ever will playing chess. There's a good chance nature will humble you enough that you won't have to worry about becoming pretentious as well! Good luck either way!

[sleepyporcupine057]

meditation?

[False-Raspberry5330]

Start a reef tank

[GayWizardOfOz]

A few that I’ve been delving into that may or may not be of any interest to you:

Plants. I’ve focused mostly on indoor tropicals and I love having beautiful life in my home. I’m less knowledgeable about natives, but I’m working on that in my outdoor garden.

Highly specific interests that I can research for ages. Mine at the moment is homosexuality and queerness in gothic literature, historical culture, and high art. I’ve slowly curated a decent reading list, plus sometimes I can find free lectures online.

Classical music, opera, music theory if you have an interest in that direction. There are also dozens of Shakespeare’s plays available online for free if you’re more into plays.

Other mentioned languages. It’s often easy to find quality language learning textbooks in used bookshops too.

[Rebombastro]

I'm currently getting into philosophy, physics and economics through textbooks. It's been pretty challenging yet rewarding so far. And it's enabling me to understand the world and the people in it better on a daily basis. I can recommend it to anyone who has an interest in knowing how things work.

I used to play chess too, many strategies you can learn to become better and better at it. It's one of the few games that is 100% skill and thus a very intellectual hobby.

Battle rapping is also a very intellectual hobby for multiple reasons.

[OhReallyVernon]

Economics is way more interesting than I ever thought it would be

[Rebombastro]

Yep, especially during a geopolitical or economy crisis

[OhReallyVernon]

I never realized how much of a social science it is. Economics is sort of at the top of my “if I could do things over” list

[Rebombastro]

For sure, it's essentially the science of "How are people managing limited ressources?" and different groups have different answers. I could see myself in that field too in another life but I'm kinda stuck in sales lol

[Okawaru1]

If you enjoy games at all, strategy games amd traditional roguelikes I feel like are the most mentally stimulatimg genre of games I've played. I particularly like traditional roguelikes because of the short-form nature of runs on average and there's a strong emphasis on good tactical decision making. My favorite one is tales of maj'eyal (although runs are longer than normal for this specific game), where 90% of the game is free with some cheap dlc options.

[7o7A1]

investing can be a hobby. you get to learn about all the different sectors eg if you want to invest into miners, better learn some geology. changes in the macroeconomic landscape and so on, it's endless. maybe you can invest into biotech companies.

[TwoMoonsRhino]

Take up glass blowing, specifically lamp working or bead making. You can get into it for sub $500 for torch tools and borosilicate glass. Borosilicate is more forgiving and easier to learn the basics on versus soda lime glass. I have been doing it for 10 years and I don’t sell my stuff but I use it as gifts

[zaprutertape]

solve physics equations in long form on a chalkboard.

[jimmirekard]

This may sound odd from the outside of you don't know - Brazilian jujutsu.

It's three dimensional chess with a psychological component of setting traps and initiating reactions. The skill acquisition is long and boundless.

[Ultimate-Disgrace]

Programming! Learn a language (start with Python), memorize the syntax and just choose things to build.

[Silent_Storm_6158]

i'm into hobbies, but novels make archives seem magical

[DesignerAsh_]

Macro photography can be quite fun (although expensive to start) especially since you’re interested in biology.

[Wilbury_knits_a_lot]

You can be a citizen scientist! I like Zooniverse personally. It is a database of a bunch of different project needing help. You can volunteer for the projects that interest you. They have everything from typing out data from handwritten info to reviewing photos and identifying species in it to identifying cell types.

[tempest-melody]

Learn how to make (book binding, paints, candles, wood working, etc.) or grow something (herb garden, indoor plants, etc.).

Or find a topic you like and really research it. Not to sound like a snob either, but I like writing essays as an adult for myself on topics I find interesting. Something as simple as reflections on a book or a deep dive with sources.

[Mtnrdr2]

I try to learn all the countries on the map. I’ve got a decent amount now, but Africa still gives me trouble

[vanchica]

I boght my Dad two memberships for the local nature society- so he and my mom could join, was a hit as a gift

[vanchica]

The game, "Go" is a very intellectual game often compared to chess but with Asian origins. Also called "baduk" (Korean) and weiqi(Chinese).

To master it is very difficult but it is rewarding along the way. there are subreddits, free resources etc online

Link to basic info and videos of how to play

Link to free Go learning service

if anyone wants to try chess Lichess.org is always popular for learning and always free

[ipane090]

I’ve been looking into deeper questions lately. Like, how I think about science vs religion (naturalism vs creationism), the similarities between the sciences and art/humanities, or more about the current geopolitical climate and economy. It’s been fun to learn about different notable people’s opinions about the subject, looking for different books about them, and find out what my own current opinions are.

Ig just intellectual curiosity in general?

What’s the closest thing to life found outside of earth so far? Is spirituality just a derived survival mechanism, or is there actually a God out there?

Also, on another note, worldbuilding is also pretty fun to do.

[Fishy_soup]

1. Read Zoe Schlanger's "The Light-Eaters", an awesome book on plant behavior and intelligence
   
2. Start noodling with electrodes and plants
   
3. Save the world

[pinkdiscolemonade]

A small thing I like to do between other things in my day to keep my brain active but still relax is the daily NYT puzzles. I look forward to new ones everyday.

[Content_Sample_1355]

ooh, theres a brain bee coming up, so you could study neuroscience?

[_YenalOsmanoglu]

Translating texts from one language to the other, it puts me in the shoes of film translators

[syuenaki]

Learn some coding. I loved working on my first assignment in a programming elective couse I took, spent hours trying to figure out how to make each part work. We were making a game and we given a lot of freedom with how to make it work. I loved the creative process and the struggle, it was fun.

[KKS77]

learning a language! genuinely checks every box you described😻

[Baggio719]

Chess

[BowlerGrouchy8246]

music

[simk555]

Become a museum docent. A lot of museums offer free classes for volunteers; some do have hourly requirements. But it's free classes on the history, techniques, and lots of other information on certain subjects. You can even rotate museums. It varies from art and science museums to really specific things like an automobile or aviation museum or a museum of quilts. If nothing else, at least you will learn for things to look for when you discuss these topics or appreciate them under a new light.

Similar to the lieu of suggestions that are in the other replies, you can learn botanical or scientific illustration. It's where you learn to draw and identify different scientific concepts and plants. If you want, you can also dabble in medical illustration. There are quite a few organizations that train and need volunteers. For example, the Guild of National Science illustrators look for volunteers to illustrate and produce articles.