I'm looking for a skill I can practice, preferably without a lot of materials

[lokiogden92]

Okay so I like to be really versatile, and thusly I've gotten into this habit of obsessively perfecting skills, I used to work as a magician for a few years, then I moved towards gambling, practiced card counting intensively, and worked as a texs hold em dealer for a while. I do parkour/free running, I play pool, I cook, I'm teaching myself guitar and piano currently, I bowl pretty well, I wakeboard every chance I get, I also skateboard but not as well as I'd like, I am in a theater group, I just started getting the hang of pickpocketing, I practice wing chun, hoping to get into krag maga and capoiera, I taught myself to juggle and contact juggling, I picked up ballroom dancing with my gf a couple months ago, I draw/sketch and working on teaching myself to paint, I'm fairly mechanically inclined, I write/read poetry quite often, and I have some basic knowledge of computer programming. I'm just starting to get this static feeling and I'm looking for something interesting to work towards, any ideas are appreciated

[IWantFroyo]

You could work on electronic projects. I'm building a phaser right now.

[Dave_L]

Yodeling?

[stinkeye]

Chest thumping seems like something you could get into, or
the art of paragraphs.
:rolleyes:

[Chdslv]

Sleeping...:)

[JDShu]

Maybe you're a genius like Da Vinci, but to be honest I don't see how you could have the time to "perfect" multiple skills.

I have a friend into digital art, and I am very into coding myself, and we're pretty sure that we'll never become satisfied with our proficiencies in our respective interests. In fact the more I improve at coding the more I realize that I'm terrible at it and will probably need several years (or the Gladwellian 10,000 hours) before I stop feeling embarrassed at my lack of skill.

[ki4jgt]

Okay so I like to be really versatile, and thusly I've gotten into this habit of obsessively perfecting skills, I used to work as a magician for a few years, then I moved towards gambling, practiced card counting intensively, and worked as a texs hold em dealer for a while. I do parkour/free running, I play pool, I cook, I'm teaching myself guitar and piano currently, I bowl pretty well, I wakeboard every chance I get, I also skateboard but not as well as I'd like, I am in a theater group, I just started getting the hang of pickpocketing, I practice wing chun, hoping to get into krag maga and capoiera, I taught myself to juggle and contact juggling, I picked up ballroom dancing with my gf a couple months ago, I draw/sketch and working on teaching myself to paint, I'm fairly mechanically inclined, I write/read poetry quite often, and I have some basic knowledge of computer programming. I'm just starting to get this static feeling and I'm looking for something interesting to work towards, any ideas are appreciated

I used to be like that. Everyone told me I had add. I could listen to about 5 radios at once, learn VERY fast, blah blah blah. My IQ was 133 and I could bring math into everything. Where people heard music on a piano, I saw math. Where people saw rules, I saw ways to mathematically manipulate those rules. I have dibbled in linguistics (which might be something you could consider), computer programming, music, poetry, writing, culture, and art. I've noticed something though, people don't like it when you think at 1000 ideas/sec. For some reason most people can't keep up and they're quick to dismiss you b/c of it. No matter what your backstory is or how maticulas you can be. When trying to be involved in everything at once, do only what you like. Don't ask others what you should do next. It takes away from the value of your own choices. What do you want to do next? What do you feel you're missing? There's an entire universe of possibilities out there. Volunteer, languages, martial arts, knitting, horseback riding, blah blah blah.

[Paqman]

Try something that will help all your other skills: meditation.

[ki4jgt]

try something that will help all your other skills: Meditation.

:like:

[slickymaster]

Volunteering. I'm sure that near you there are many humanitarian organizations needing help.

[Linuxratty]

Become a desktop dev.

Learn a musical instrument.

Get a Raspberry and do some creative things with it.

[jerome1232]

Learn a musical instrument.


I vote Cello.

[LiamOS]

If you think you'd have the dedication, learn to play the Uilleann Pipes. They are an insanely cool instrument.

I'd also recomment something like hiking; you don't need more than a pair of decent boots, water and food.



Oh, and you could try installing Gentoo Linux. That's a ton of fun, and you learn a lot.

[forrestcupp]

I do parkour/free runningI was going to say parkour, but darn it, you already do it. :)

But you could get deeper into that, because it seems like you don't realize yet that there is a very different philosophy between parkour and free running. Even though they look a lot alike, they are very different. But I agree with ki4jgt that martial arts might be good. If you really try with that, it's set up in such a way that you can't just fly through it quickly.


I used to be like that. Everyone told me I had add. I could listen to about 5 radios at once, learn VERY fast, blah blah blah. My IQ was 133 and I could bring math into everything. Where people heard music on a piano, I saw math. Where people saw rules, I saw ways to mathematically manipulate those rules. I have dibbled in linguistics (which might be something you could consider), computer programming, music, poetry, writing, culture, and art. I've noticed something though, people don't like it when you think at 1000 ideas/sec. For some reason most people can't keep up and they're quick to dismiss you b/c of it. No matter what your backstory is or how maticulas you can be. When trying to be involved in everything at once, do only what you like. Don't ask others what you should do next. It takes away from the value of your own choices. What do you want to do next? What do you feel you're missing? There's an entire universe of possibilities out there. Volunteer, languages, martial arts, knitting, horseback riding, blah blah blah.Just a couple of tips. Don't tell everyone your IQ, for two reasons. Firstly, it seems like you're boasting. Secondly, there are tons of people out there with way higher IQs than that that would just embarrass you. If there's one thing I've learned from this forum, it's that I could think I'm an expert at something, but there is always someone online at the same moment I am that makes me look stupid. And that applies to any possible category you could imagine, not just tech.

Also, some people can keep up with your 1000 ideas/sec, but they still don't like it because it makes you look arrogant. Use your fast thinking in the right venues, but don't put it on display in the wrong venues.

[Erik1984]

As you join the Ubuntuforums just to ask for a hobby (no other posts) I'd suggest... Ubuntu. Doesn't require a lot of material: one blank DVD (maybe a couple of spare disks just in case) or a USB stick. Assuming you already own a computer of some sort capable of running Ubuntu.

[Paqman]

Also, some people can keep up with your 1000 ideas/sec, but they still don't like it because it makes you look arrogant. Use your fast thinking in the right venues, but don't put it on display in the wrong venues.

Also, that kind of thinking isn't necessarily the most effective way to get things done. People who're highly effective individuals aren't always able to be an effective part of the team, and sometimes make the mistake of trying to apply the techniques that work well as an individual to situations where a team approach is required.

[BlinkinCat]

Join an online Chess Club - There are many members there to challenge - :)

[Lars Noodén]

Join an online Chess Club - There are many members there to challenge - :)

Go might be even more popular than chess. The rules are simple, but mastery is much more difficult. It is so difficult that there have not yet been programs that can play at a decent level.

[whatthefunk]

Master a really hard language. That will keep you busy for years. Arabian, Chinese and Japanese are some of the hardest. From there you could learn calligraphy. All three languages have long calligraphy traditions.

Also, the meditation thing is a good idea. Another thing that you wont be able to master for a long time, if ever.

[malspa]

the Gladwellian 10,000 hours

This was the first thing that came to mind when I read the original post -- stick with something for a long time, reach "expert" level.

The second thing that came to mind: Practicing a skill that enables one to help others.

[coldraven]

Sailing, you can work towards getting a Yachtmaster certificate. It is not easy!
If you are in the UK and live on the coast you could become an RNLI volunteer.
www.rnli.org.uk

[mips]

Gangnam style?

[forrestcupp]

Gangnam style?

Lol. Only PSY can master that.

[ki4jgt]

I was going to say parkour, but darn it, you already do it. :)

But you could get deeper into that, because it seems like you don't realize yet that there is a very different philosophy between parkour and free running. Even though they look a lot alike, they are very different. But I agree with ki4jgt that martial arts might be good. If you really try with that, it's set up in such a way that you can't just fly through it quickly.

Just a couple of tips. Don't tell everyone your IQ, for two reasons. Firstly, it seems like you're boasting. Secondly, there are tons of people out there with way higher IQs than that that would just embarrass you. If there's one thing I've learned from this forum, it's that I could think I'm an expert at something, but there is always someone online at the same moment I am that makes me look stupid. And that applies to any possible category you could imagine, not just tech.

Also, some people can keep up with your 1000 ideas/sec, but they still don't like it because it makes you look arrogant. Use your fast thinking in the right venues, but don't put it on display in the wrong venues.

Thanks LOL wasn't trying to brag :) but there are actually negatives which come along with having a high IQ. When I tell people about my IQ I assume them to know them. So it's not as much bragging as it is information (to me anyways). People with high IQs are more susceptable to suggestibility because they can figure out possible relationships between two things that lower IQd individuals would never connect the dots to. This is why there are so many high IQd serial killers. In their minds, the path between A and B fits logically. So while they can figure things out quicker, they can also fall for deception faster as well (every possitive has a negative) In my own pathology, IQ is just a number measuring one strength of the human mind. If we were to consider all people with an IQ below MENSA's requirements as inferior, we would be discrediting the experiences of a majority of the human race for what could possibly be flaws (in the right circumstances) of our own. So, IQ doesn't make one of less or more value. It is merely a gift in a certain circumstance, where as empathy or and extra bit of adrenaline would be in another. We're all given the strengths which allowed our ancestors to survive life and bring forth children. Ergo, we're all on opposite ends of the ring, there's not a set of stairs for who is higher or lower. Just a ring of what we've inherited to survive in our own particular situations.

I'll also admit I'm arrogant. Don't plan to change it though. It's attached to some very raw emotions and it's how I deal with my life at the moment.


Also, that kind of thinking isn't necessarily the most effective way to get things done. People who're highly effective individuals aren't always able to be an effective part of the team, and sometimes make the mistake of trying to apply the techniques that work well as an individual to situations where a team approach is required.

That's why I work better as an individual. I acknowledge this fact.


Go might be even more popular than chess. The rules are simple, but mastery is much more difficult. It is so difficult that there have not yet been programs that can play at a decent level.

I LOVE GO, but I stink at it :). It's really hard. I would definately suggest learning it if. Good suggestion :)


Gangnam style?

+1

[IWantFroyo]

Thanks LOL wasn't trying to brag :) but there are actually negatives which come along with having a high IQ. When I tell people about my IQ I assume them to know them. So it's not as much bragging as it is information (to me anyways). People with high IQs are more susceptable to suggestibility because they can figure out possible relationships between two things that lower IQd individuals would never connect the dots to. This is why there are so many high IQd serial killers. In their minds, the path between A and B fits logically. So while they can figure things out quicker, they can also fall for deception faster as well (every possitive has a negative) In my own pathology, IQ is just a number measuring one strength of the human mind. If we were to consider all people with an IQ below MENSA's requirements as inferior, we would be discrediting the experiences of a majority of the human race for what could possibly be flaws (in the right circumstances) of our own. So, IQ doesn't make one of less or more value. It is merely a gift in a certain circumstance, where as empathy or and extra bit of adrenaline would be in another. We're all given the strengths which allowed our ancestors to survive life and bring forth children. Ergo, we're all on opposite ends of the ring, there's not a set of stairs for who is higher or lower. Just a ring of what we've inherited to survive in our own particular situations.

I'll also admit I'm arrogant. Don't plan to change it though. It's attached to some very raw emotions and it's how I deal with my life at the moment.



That's why I work better as an individual. I acknowledge this fact.



I LOVE GO, but I stink at it :). It's really hard. I would definately suggest learning it if. Good suggestion :)



+1

My IQ is 144 and I was in and out of mental hospitals during my teens for hearing voices. High IQs can be a curse.

I'll admit that I'm arrogant, as well.

[zombifier25]

My IQ is 144 and I was in and out of mental hospitals during my teens for hearing voices. High IQs can be a curse.

Does it happen to be in Morgan Freeman's voice?

[ki4jgt]

Does it happen to be in Morgan Freeman's voice?

I've always found his voice to be soothing and a bit comforting. He has a strong, lulling tone. It's perfect for hypnosis. Which is ironically why he sounds so good when he speaks in movies. Though I would freak, I would love to hear his voice as the one I think with. :)

[lokiogden92]

Okay didn't mean to insinuate I was a perfect being, a lot of the things I listed are working progresses, I'm working on expanding my skillsets atm, but I still work on improving all my other skills individually every opportunity I get. I mostly wanted to use this forum as a way to discover something new and interesting, I have the rest of my life to perfect every skill, currently I'm trying to get a job that deals with a bit of programming/web design, they'll pay for my college, and I'd like to graduate with a degree in aerospace engineering, since I know quite a few people who work for l3, gulfstream, and even some family that work with nasa, but it's only a means to an end to fund several more college degrees. One day I'd like to be able to present myself as the modern day renaissance man, you can poke fun, I've heard it before, but I just want to keep moving forward

[ki4jgt]

Okay didn't mean to insinuate I was a perfect being, a lot of the things I listed are working progresses, I'm working on expanding my skillsets atm, but I still work on improving all my other skills individually every opportunity I get. I mostly wanted to use this forum as a way to discover something new and interesting, I have the rest of my life to perfect every skill, currently I'm trying to get a job that deals with a bit of programming/web design, they'll pay for my college, and I'd like to graduate with a degree in aerospace engineering, since I know quite a few people who work for l3, gulfstream, and even some family that work with nasa, but it's only a means to an end to fund several more college degrees. One day I'd like to be able to present myself as the modern day renaissance man, you can poke fun, I've heard it before, but I just want to keep moving forward

There's nothing wrong with that however, I think your name will be crowded among the many others. This is the information age. People can learn anything by just turning on a magic box (computer). You can learn everything that thomas jefferson, albert einstein, and da vinci knew and discovered in their entire life. The secret to being remembered in the sense you're speaking, is not to be remembered as all-knowing, but as philosophically sound. Perfection is impossible. That's the beauty of life. No matter how hard you try, nothing is perfect. However, it is often the absense of perfection, which makes something truly perfect. :) It's a very Daoist concept but it is true all the same. Wabi Sabi, People will remember you not for what you know, but how much you can identify with the human condition (their condition). Knowing many skills helps along the way though :)

[leclerc65]

Google for
1- Game of GO (Wei Ki), the ultimate game humanity can think of.
2- Micro Orbit and Macro Orbit meditation.

[forrestcupp]

Thanks LOL wasn't trying to brag :) but there are actually negatives which come along with having a high IQ. When I tell people about my IQ I assume them to know them. So it's not as much bragging as it is information (to me anyways). People with high IQs are more susceptable to suggestibility because they can figure out possible relationships between two things that lower IQd individuals would never connect the dots to. This is why there are so many high IQd serial killers. In their minds, the path between A and B fits logically. So while they can figure things out quicker, they can also fall for deception faster as well (every possitive has a negative) In my own pathology, IQ is just a number measuring one strength of the human mind. If we were to consider all people with an IQ below MENSA's requirements as inferior, we would be discrediting the experiences of a majority of the human race for what could possibly be flaws (in the right circumstances) of our own. So, IQ doesn't make one of less or more value. It is merely a gift in a certain circumstance, where as empathy or and extra bit of adrenaline would be in another. We're all given the strengths which allowed our ancestors to survive life and bring forth children. Ergo, we're all on opposite ends of the ring, there's not a set of stairs for who is higher or lower. Just a ring of what we've inherited to survive in our own particular situations.

I'll also admit I'm arrogant. Don't plan to change it though. It's attached to some very raw emotions and it's how I deal with my life at the moment.
You must have missed the part where I was pointing out that the reason you shouldn't talk about your high IQ and give the number is because there are a lot of people around who have higher IQs than you do. Someday your arrogance might just get you embarrassed.

Also, not everyone with high IQs are mental and annoying. There was once a time when I was still a young guy that I used to try to show people how smart I am. It didn't take me long to find out that it pissed people off and it really didn't do any good.

I'm not saying this stuff because I don't like you. I really get a kick out of some of the things you say on here. :)

[malspa]

Sometimes I wonder if mentioning your IQ might show somewhat of a lack of intelligence. ;)

Edit: Please take that as a joke (or, something to think about) rather than as an insult.

[ki4jgt]

You must have missed the part where I was pointing out that the reason you shouldn't talk about your high IQ and give the number is because there are a lot of people around who have higher IQs than you do. Someday your arrogance might just get you embarrassed.

Also, not everyone with high IQs are mental and annoying. There was once a time when I was still a young guy that I used to try to show people how smart I am. It didn't take me long to find out that it pissed people off and it really didn't do any good.

I'm not saying this stuff because I don't like you. I really get a kick out of some of the things you say on here. :)

Please understand, I am not (at this time) trying to be arrogant with you. I am arrogant (which is what I was admitting earlier) but not trying to be in this particular situation. From your perspective, I can see that sharing an IQ would be seen as bragging as there are people with lower IQs. From my perspective, weight lifters brag about how many pounds they can lift. Runners, how many miles they can run. Typists, how many words per minute. I get your point. I just don't see it in the same perspective as you do. IQ test scores can be raised by dedication. The actual IQ itself isn't raised but on tests, dedication has been shown to be just as effective (or more) as/than having a high IQ. So having a high IQ is the same as a body builder being naturally toned and defined before lifting. They have the body for it. It's fact, not bragging. Also, there is no scientific way to quantify "smart." IQ is more of a way to measure emotional memory/long term memory. A LOT has changed in psychology since the days when people thought you were smart if you had a high IQ. Smart is defined differently now.

As for every high IQd person having a mental illness, I never said that. I said they were more open to suggestibility. That's one of the first things you learn in hypnotherapy (a course I took). The higher a person's IQ is, the higher their suggestibility to their surroundings is. IQ is in simple terms a measurement of how well you can apply past memories to present situations. It's by extention a measure of your long term memory. It actually has NOTHING to do with how smart you are. Where a low IQd individual may see two unrelated events and ignore them, a higher IQd individual can actually find true logical patterns between unrelated events (because of memory). It in NO way garuntees those connections to be correct or well thought out. I believe that is what you are refering to when you say "smart." Dedication is the ONLY indicator of "smart" and sometimes it even fails. Because of MEMORY, an external suggestion (a hypnotist) may state two COMPLETELY unrelated topics, and the high IQd person WILL be able to find a connection between them.

Now imagine a brainwash attempt for a high IQd person (who's distraught) and wants to find a connection between his "suffering" and "the truth". Lower IQs (statistically) just shrug it off and accept the inevitable. The memories aren't as intense for them. High IQs make the link. They remember EVERY detail. (If everything is truth. . . I had to suffer. . . that must be how life goes. . . my problems this. . . I am free now. . . everyone else must suffer to be free. . . I must show them suffering.)

Because they can make these connections (from long term memories) they must take more care in the psychology department. I'm not saying that they're garunteed to be psychologically ill. I'm saying, the more stock you have invested in the stock market, the more money you stand to lose. The more you have invested into your memories, the more you stand to lose if you cannot turn bad memories into positive outcomes. They are literally more suseceptable to evil deeds because they are also more susceptable to good ones. Bring in regret of those bad deeds, and because a low IQd person doesn't (statistically) remember so intensly, they can forgive themselves easier. Bring in someone of high IQ and they will mull it over and over and over until their bad deeds become worse. It doesn't mean they don't have a choice, just that the process of self forgiveness is different for them.

Stating all of this, high IQ, like EVERYTHING else is as much a curse as it is a blessing. It doesn't garuntee being correct or "smart." I never said I was. After all these decades and centuries, dedication and time are still the only proof of wisdom. We all have our own gifts. Biblical comparison. To one the gift of, to another the gift of, to another the gift of, all from the same spirit. Stating an IQ is not bragging. Where the intensity of my memories may cause me to fail at a particular trial, someone with less focus on those past issues may walk right past me. Where being able to remember intensly allows me to walk through another event that a person with less intense memories couldn't navigate. The spirit in this case is our survival as a species. We each have a gift and none of them are more important than the others. They all have strengths and weaknesses.


Sometimes I wonder if mentioning your IQ might show somewhat of a lack of intelligence. ;)

Edit: Please take that as a joke (or, something to think about) rather than as an insult.

Not an insult. It's a noble idea, although I think the concept is more about what you're infering IQ to mean (which is smartness), in which case no one can measure smartness and I totally agree with you. If someone went around claiming their own smartness. I would question it.

[forrestcupp]

Please understand, I am not (at this time) trying to be arrogant with you. I am arrogant (which is what I was admitting earlier) but not trying to be in this particular situation. From your perspective, I can see that sharing an IQ would be seen as bragging as there are people with lower IQs.
You're still not getting what I'm saying. I'm saying that there are a lot more people around with higher IQs than you think. If you're in a room full of people with 140-160 IQs, and you're talking about your high IQ of 133, you're just going to embarrass yourself. If you absolutely have to talk about your high IQ, don't give the number. I'm just saying this for your own good.

[malspa]

Okay so I like to be really versatile, and thusly I've gotten into this habit of obsessively perfecting skills, I used to work as a magician for a few years, then I moved towards gambling, practiced card counting intensively, and worked as a texs hold em dealer for a while. I do parkour/free running, I play pool, I cook, I'm teaching myself guitar and piano currently, I bowl pretty well, I wakeboard every chance I get, I also skateboard but not as well as I'd like, I am in a theater group, I just started getting the hang of pickpocketing, I practice wing chun, hoping to get into krag maga and capoiera, I taught myself to juggle and contact juggling, I picked up ballroom dancing with my gf a couple months ago, I draw/sketch and working on teaching myself to paint, I'm fairly mechanically inclined, I write/read poetry quite often, and I have some basic knowledge of computer programming. I'm just starting to get this static feeling and I'm looking for something interesting to work towards, any ideas are appreciated

It strikes me that most of the "skills" you mention are kinda leisure- or entertainment-oriented. If you want something more "interesting to work towards," maybe you'd get more out of building or repairing things -- I guess what I'm trying to say is, focusing on skills that get some type of work done.

[Grenage]

If we were to consider all people with an IQ below MENSA's requirements as inferior, we would be discrediting the experiences of a majority of the human race...

Including yourself, or has the 2% slipped?


I'm just starting to get this static feeling and I'm looking for something interesting to work towards, any ideas are appreciated

Yes, stick with something to a point of actual mastery - and work on your post formatting. ;)