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Expanding my Mind


fastortoise

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Well folks, I quit my job at Subway and my next employer only needs me in July, so I have a month vacation (wrote my last final last Thursday) with limited cash funds. Needless to say, I'm extremely bored. I started going to the gym with my friends (influenced by many weightlifting topics here), but that only kills around 10 hours a week. My goal for this month (and the rest of the summer) is to expand my mind as much as possible.

 

 

 

Reading is the obvious best method for training my brain, and I've been reading some books recommended in the reading thread. I've also started studying first source research papers (found with Google Scholar) which I find very enlightening and second source papers (such as articles in the New York Times), primarily related to Biology/evolutionary developmental biology. Reading really helps because it not only works out my brain, I also gain a lot of knowledge. The huge downside is, I get very sleepy when reading and I'm physically limited to reading for only maybe 4-5 hours a day.

 

 

 

I've also tried my hand at logic problems found on the Internet (e.g. 2 jugs problem), but most of them only require 1-2 minutes of out-of-the-box thinking before finding an answer. These don't have the satisfaction of figuring out a complicated math theorem which is what I was looking for. So, another logical choice for expanding my mind would be to do some math (no harder than Calculus2 or linear algebra). Even though I dislike the science, I am forcing myself to do some math exercises but I confess I will probably drop them soon. Other logic games like the ones found on Nintendo DS also bore me, since like many of you I am an above-average gamer and I beat the game in an hour.

 

 

 

Captivating conversations are also stimulating, but I don't have any nerdy friends. I barely stay in touch with students from my old Bio classes, which was a mistake retrospectively. Sometimes my dad (a Biology professor at a University near my house) invites his colleagues over, but they refrain from Bio talk and instead talk about soccer or beer/wine. My only outlet to interesting conversations and debates is here, which is very limited. If anybody knows of any smart and active academic or scientific forums, please PM me since advertising links aren't allowed on this thread.

 

 

 

This is where my ideas for stimulating my mind end. Hopefully you guys can help me out by suggesting other methods of stimulation, or you could discuss the effectiveness of some of my methods. Trolls always welcome.

 

[hide=Concerning Drugs 18/21+]I drink a strong black coffee each morning because it gives me an extra 4 hours awake time and gives a swift wake-up kick to my brain, but it is addictive so I wouldn't suggest anybody to start drinking coffee until they are atleast over 20.[/hide]

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If anybody knows of any smart and active academic or scientific forums, please PM me since advertising links aren't allowed on this thread.

 

 

 

If you're looking for internet forums, then all you need to do is google. Searches like "science forum", "politics forum" and others will always get you to a popular forum. There is a forum for everything on the internet. I think Richard Dawkins's site also has a big forum with a lot of bioscience discussions.

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Programming and Wikipedia. Start learning PHP or Python.

 

 

 

I second this, Wikipedia is awesome at times when you are just looking for general knowledge. It's fun to look something up you want to know about, then spend 2 or 3 hours going off of links from that. I can't remember exactly what the start and end point of one of my browsing sessions was but I think it was something along the lines of starting at Space Habitat and ending at Sumerians, with about 3 hours between. I think it was actually even something cooler than that but it was a while ago.

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Learn a new language.

 

Hahaha, I tried that last summer. I found this great free site that had thousands of tutorials for learning Spanish. I learned the basics but I can't advance anymore since nobody I know speaks fluent Spanish.

 

 

 

Programming and Wikipedia. Start learning PHP or Python.

 

Programming is a GREAT idea. I already know XHTML/CSS and some basic PHP, I have the offline server thingy to test out PHP scripts too, I just totally forgot about it. I will leave out Python/C++ since I don't see myself ever needing to use it. Wikipedia is also rewarding, I prefer reading long first-source research papers though.

 

Could you remove those drug-references? Some users might get the wrong idea, and we're a G-rated forum afterall.

 

 

 

Thanks.

 

:thumbup:

 

 

 

As for forums, yes I know google can bring up instant hits, I was just wondering if there are any Tip.Iters who are already established in one and can guarantee a nice stay. I will try Dawkin's forum, but even though I personally do not think he's too extreme, he sure does attract extremists.

 

 

 

Thanks a lot everybody for your input, I'll be surveying this thread all day. Even when it dies, I have it bookmarked so your ideas won't be lost.

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There's tons of things you can do to expand your mind.

 

 

 

There's:

 

Learn a programming language - Python is a good start

 

Learn a new language - personal preference really, though I'll take a guess and say that Mandarin is going to be pretty big in the future :P

 

Read

 

Do puzzles every day (crosswords, sudoku, etc)

 

Take part in debates either irl or on forums

 

Write

 

Learn to cook

 

 

 

 

 

Though most of these will take longer than a month, but in the long run it's only beneficial to you.

 

 

 

edit: of course there's also drugs, but you have to do them to experience new things, rather than just to be high. If you do decide to do drugs for the experience or whatever, take in small doses so you can still write down what you're feeling, rather than just being a vegtable for a few hours. Or flying through candyland.

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Restore a car, that could take a long time. Work on it with friends who have the tools or maybe a family member. Puzzles are always fun as mentioned before, maybe try solving rubix (spelling?) cubes?

Masta Chef

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Playing an instrument is great for stimulating your mind, especially if you make your own music. I can't think of a better feeling than coming up with a wicked riff and then expanding from it. It can be challenging, and it is more fun than memorizing number sequences. :lol:

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Try the xkcd forums - xkcd is a geek webcomic, but their forums are populated with some very large brains, and they have a huge range of incisive and interesting topics on all levels from high school up to postgraduate. I particularly like the mathematics forum, but the linguistics forum is very interesting too.

 

 

 

The web address is http://echochamber.me/

 

And can I also give props to anyone wanting to expand their mind? A great thing to see in this day and age, respect to ya.

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-Programming is proving to be very difficult, but I'll keep at it

 

-I'm not going to try and learn a new language, I'd need a teacher for that

 

-Chess is great, but it's only fun when playing with friends and family, and they get bored easily

 

-Restoring a car is a dream of mine, but I don't have the funds nor the space. However, I am doing some landscaping around the house with my dad which will also provide that deep satisfaction of a job well done

 

-Memorizing number sequences is useless and not productive

 

-Playing an instrument/recording music would be nice, but I only have talent for playing the xylophone... my musical talent peaked at the age of 8

 

-Writing is a great idea, I took your idea and starting drawing/explaining some of my invention ideas I've been having recently which gave me a lot of motivation for learning new things

 

-xkcd forums are PERFECT, just what I was looking for. Thank you so much <3:

 

 

 

I am now doing some research on recombinant DNA technology for environmental cleanup, after wondering if a factory of GM bacteria could potentially convert all the free inorganic carbon (CO2) in the atmosphere into organic carbon. If I keep up at this pace, I will have accomplished a lot in one month. However, I still need more ideas!!

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-Programming is proving to be very difficult, but I'll keep at it

 

-I'm not going to try and learn a new language, I'd need a teacher for that

 

-Chess is great, but it's only fun when playing with friends and family, and they get bored easily

 

-Restoring a car is a dream of mine, but I don't have the funds nor the space. However, I am doing some landscaping around the house with my dad which will also provide that deep satisfaction of a job well done

 

-Memorizing number sequences is useless and not productive

 

-Playing an instrument/recording music would be nice, but I only have talent for playing the xylophone... my musical talent peaked at the age of 8

 

-Writing is a great idea, I took your idea and starting drawing/explaining some of my invention ideas I've been having recently which gave me a lot of motivation for learning new things

 

-xkcd forums are PERFECT, just what I was looking for. Thank you so much <3:

 

 

 

I am now doing some research on recombinant DNA technology for environmental cleanup, after wondering if a factory of GM bacteria could potentially convert all the free inorganic carbon (CO2) in the atmosphere into organic carbon. If I keep up at this pace, I will have accomplished a lot in one month. However, I still need more ideas!!

 

 

 

Landscaping? I got a perfect summer project for you then: start a garden pond. There is a startup cost (depending on how big you want, cheapest you can do is probably $80), but if you do it by hand then you get a lot of satisfaction from it. Decorative ponds are great for landscaping looks so you might be able to get your parents to pay for it.

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Landscaping? I got a perfect summer project for you then: start a garden pond. There is a startup cost (depending on how big you want, cheapest you can do is probably $80), but if you do it by hand then you get a lot of satisfaction from it. Decorative ponds are great for landscaping looks so you might be able to get your parents to pay for it.
We already made one 3 years ago :lol: . Right now my dad and I are advancing our backyard shed onto the driveway, giving more backyard space.

 

Learn GFX. Signature making, banners, web design. Expands the mind, relives stress (at least for me) shows your creativity. Also once you have one GFX style down, then work on it until you THINK you can't improve it anymore. Then push yourself, and improve it more, using different tools. It can also be very rewarding. Head over to The Gallery if this interests you :)

 

It doesn't take any previous skill to do (I can't even draw :P) but its all about technique and having an open mind. Willing to learn and take the criticism.

 

Yeah, fooling around with photoshop/XHTML&CSS has kept me creative for the past 3-4 years. If I hadn't done graphic design in the past, this would have been a great suggestion because I know, first hand, that it stimulates me. However, my interests have deviated, and I no longer enjoy making websites or graphics as much... I'll open a thread in the Gallery now, even though I don't like sharing my stuff with people i'm not too familiar with ::'

 

Good suggestions nonetheless :thumbup:

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Try becoming ambidextrous! I hear being able to use both arms makes you able to think better (I intend to do it sometime), that and it's convenient for when you break an arm and want to keep doing things you normally do with your dominant hand.

 

 

 

I can't think of anything else, most of the good ones have been taken.

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It's what I do

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I am now doing some research on recombinant DNA technology for environmental cleanup, after wondering if a factory of GM bacteria could potentially convert all the free inorganic carbon (CO2) in the atmosphere into organic carbon.

 

That GM bacteria would essentially have to outdo 2.8 billion years of syanobacteria evolution. Also, there is something like a bit under a teratonne of carbon in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere so you would be making a lot of organic material.

 

Try the xkcd forums - xkcd is a geek webcomic, but their forums are populated with some very large brains, and they have a huge range of incisive and interesting topics on all levels from high school up to postgraduate. I particularly like the mathematics forum, but the linguistics forum is very interesting too.

 

This was a great find for me as well. Thanks. Also, the webcomic isn't too bad.

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I suppose this is a good chance to namedrop Rick Roderick. He was a philosophy lecturer at a few universities, and is reasonably well known for making complex material accessible to just about anyone. You can download a few series of lectures in audio format here. He's interesting, funny and highly informative. Philosophy with a West Texas kick.

La lune ne garde aucune rancune.

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I think it's great that you read scientific papers. My advice would be to keep doing that, but perhaps browse a good science news site like sciencedaily.com as a starting point. There's all kinds of topics covered on that site.

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I drink a strong black coffee each morning because it gives me an extra 4 hours awake time and gives a swift wake-up kick to my brain, but it is addictive so I wouldn't suggest anybody to start drinking coffee until they are atleast over 20.

 

 

 

:lol: you can't kicka caffeine addiction?

;>

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