EPTInexpensive, Location-independent Hobbies? - Page 2
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KillerSOS
United States4207 Posts
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FuRong
New Zealand3089 Posts
On March 16 2013 23:11 biology]major wrote: When video games become the focal point of your life, which is common as hell for shut-ins, then there will literally be nothing to talk about with most people. It is hard to relate with others when all of your experiences center around trivial things. Yes they might make you happy, and you should proudly wear it like shining armor. However at the same time, you will be isolated for being extreme/weird --> sadness. This is bullshit. Almost everyone centres their life around "trivial things". What could possibly be more trivial than TV, sports, shopping, celebrities, gadgets or any of the other myriad of mundane topics that people commonly use to make small talk? The difference is simply in the social acceptability of certain topics when you bring them up in conversations. Neuro-physicists probably don't have many interests in common with the average person either, but that doesn't mean that the work they do is unimportant or irrelevant, it just means that they also need to learn about other things outside their field(s) of interest in order to interact with mainstream society. In my opinion, the OP should try to learn more about topics that he knows nothing about, or at least think of a few interesting things that he could contribute to a conversation about various topics. Even just being out and talking with people is good, because you can learn by example. Talkative, social people can bullshit about basically any topic you give them, even if they know nothing about it, because they have the basic skills to carry a conversation. Having one interesting hobby you can bring up is great, but most conversations are not going to be centred around you and what you do in your spare time, so you would do better by increasing your general knowledge and general conversation skills imo. | ||
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jrkirby
United States1510 Posts
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Aukai
United States1183 Posts
On March 17 2013 00:02 kafkaesque wrote: Just remember to pick up an instrument that is not the bass. It's an awesome instrument, you will be highly sought after when looking for a band and if you find one, you'll be an inextricable part of the music you guys make, but it's not pleasant as a solo-instrument to the uninitiated. If by uninitiated, you mean someone who is just starting out, it doesn't really matter bass or guitar, I would just say pursue whatever he's more into or if admires a particular person or band to learn that instrument so it can get his interest in the door. The only time I would say don't pick up a certain instrument is drums, because that shit gets expensive and you can't exactly practice it whenever you want and be "quiet". | ||
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r.Evo
Germany14080 Posts
TCGs, League or SC aren't bad because of how many people play at least one of those nowadays. Sure, talking about in-depth strategy isn't the best option in most cases but it's not like you're forced to do that. See, I take a great interest in the marketing industry (and through that social psychology as well) which leads to a pretty good knowledge of decision processes, how to influence/convince people. Comes off extremely creepy and manipulative. So I prefer not to talk about that. Among other things I teach people on how to "manipulate themselves" (or sometimes others in the case of dating or couples councelling), it's also a topic I love talking about with random people, friends or even when it comes to dating. However, my framing is completely different from yours. "You can not not communicate" -> "Communication always results in manipulation" -> "Knowing how to communicate properly helps everyone involved" In such a context "manipulating" or "influencing" suddenly isn't an evil deed anymore - it's just a tool that you learned use and it, as tools tend to be like, can be used for any kind of purpose. The intent is what matters. In general when it comes to "basics" of social skills it is much less about the content, but the emotion it conveys. If you see someone do something funny (e.g. a guy trying to approach a group of girls, burning horribly and not realizing what's wrong and trying again and again) and you point it out to others while being enthusiastic about it it's very rare that no one cares or doesn't like to listen. Think of content more like a train that you're using to bring emotion to the other person. In most cases it's that emotion that makes it interesting or not. Find things that are fun, have fun with them and try to gather people around you that you enjoy having fun with. Trying to make yourself more interesting to people who are randomly around you is asking to end in a disaster. Unless you're doing that for fun, of course. =P | ||
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Celial
2602 Posts
Lots of valid points have been made that I have to think about. On March 17 2013 02:22 r.Evo wrote: Think of content more like a train that you're using to bring emotion to the other person. In most cases it's that emotion that makes it interesting or not. Interesting angle. Have to think a bout that. | ||
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kafkaesque
Germany2006 Posts
On March 17 2013 02:14 Aukai wrote: If by uninitiated, you mean someone who is just starting out, it doesn't really matter bass or guitar, I would just say pursue whatever he's more into or if admires a particular person or band to learn that instrument so it can get his interest in the door. The only time I would say don't pick up a certain instrument is drums, because that shit gets expensive and you can't exactly practice it whenever you want and be "quiet". I imagine the bass is rather dull if you're not overly interested in music. I'll bet that people who only listen casually to whatever's on the radio will not recognize a single bass-riff you play to them. It also gets really, really dull to play if you don't have a drummer around. Don't get me wrong, I love the bass and it often makes or breaks the song, but I think it's an instrument only musicians or enthusiastic listeners can isolate and really enjoy. "What does that large guitar do?" (actual quote) | ||
FlaShFTW
United States10463 Posts
On March 17 2013 02:43 Celial wrote: Quite good answers, thanks guys! Lots of valid points have been made that I have to think about. Interesting angle. Have to think a bout that. emotion is everything. i love cubing with a passion which makes it fun for me even when i get crappy times. only way is to improve as well. find something you'll never master. always has that drive for you to always improve. | ||
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Leyra
United States1222 Posts
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Aukai
United States1183 Posts
On March 17 2013 02:44 kafkaesque wrote: I imagine the bass is rather dull if you're not overly interested in music. I'll bet that people who only listen casually to whatever's on the radio will not recognize a single bass-riff you play to them. It also gets really, really dull to play if you don't have a drummer around. Don't get me wrong, I love the bass and it often makes or breaks the song, but I think it's an instrument only musicians or enthusiastic listeners can isolate and really enjoy. "What does that large guitar do?" (actual quote) Or you could just play schism. Casual people would pick that up. Or you could suprise people and play guitar lines like Under the Bridge intro on bass. Or learn to slap or tap. Plucking roots or chugging power chords is equally boring. But I don't want to side track this, I just don't like you implying casual people are too dumb to recognize something interesting on bass because it didn't happen on the radio but are suddenly drawn to a guitar because it has two more strings. Is that really the kind of person you want to befriend anyway? EDIT: My point is, pick bass or guitar. Don't pick one because you think people will think your boring. That's just as wrong as quitting video games because you think people will think you're nerdy. | ||
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Kickboxer
Slovenia1308 Posts
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spinesheath
Germany8679 Posts
Is this a serious post? I can't see how you could keep a conversation going when you're talking about your bonsai hobby. I like it and I wish I had the patience to do it myself, but it seems like an even worse smalltalk topic than games. | ||
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docvoc
United States5491 Posts
Social
Non-Social
Pick 2-3, I suggest 2 social + 1 non-social and then get really good at those things, don't be all over the place or you won't know anyone. It takes time and putting in the hours to get really good at hobbies. | ||
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hp.Shell
United States2527 Posts
Okay, stay motivated, get ripped, try to spend as much time talking to people or being near other people as humanly possible all day long, that's the fastest way to improving socially. Lots of experience. Edit: Also reading good nonfiction books is good for you if you want to project more of a charming / intellectual personality rather than douchebaggery in order to get chicks. Watch The Count of Monte Cristo, that got me started (I've only seen the 2002 version though). I remember reading Wealth and Nations and just having a knowledge bomb dropped on my head. It's like, yeah science and math is great but that isn't all there is in terms of new knowledge. And really read the good books first, you need foundations. Celial Fighting! | ||
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-Kaiser-
Canada932 Posts
Being a normal person doesn't mean giving up the things that make you happy. What a waste of a fucking life. Just work on your social skills. If you have good social skills and you come across as a chill guy, you can sell a group of people on rolling around in dog shit. | ||
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beg
991 Posts
shit, i need to make this post bigger, cause these 1liners usually get overlooked. blalbalbla blvlvalblalb bla bla bl al balba lb albalb a ablba a check out some good stuff on youtube, like or anything by RSD tyler (youtube). if you can, get RSD blueprint (DVD program), cause i'm not sure how much sense the manwhore speech or free RSD material will make to you. i do think they'll still make quite some sense though. i dont know any other good free material, cause i stopped searching after having seen blueprint. edit: actually... "simple pickup" on youtube is genius too. if their explanations and infield footage + manwhore + some free rsd stuff make complete sense to you, you can probably forget about blueprint. | ||
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LlamaNamedOsama
United States1900 Posts
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biology]major
United States2253 Posts
On March 17 2013 10:27 beg wrote: go out and talk to girls, as a hobby. is what i'm doing now. biggest challenge i ever faced. and dont tell me you cant do this in your area. how did your ancestors meet their mates? shit, i need to make this post bigger, cause these 1liners usually get overlooked. blalbalbla blvlvalblalb bla bla bl al balba lb albalb a ablba a check out some good stuff on youtube, like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmI9r7Py4tk or anything by RSD tyler (youtube). if you can, get RSD blueprint (DVD program), cause i'm not sure how much sense the manwhore speech or free RSD material will make to you. i do think they'll still make quite some sense though. i dont know any other good free material, cause i stopped searching after having seen blueprint. edit: actually... "simple pickup" on youtube is genius too. if their explanations and infield footage + manwhore + some free rsd stuff make complete sense to you, you can probably forget about blueprint. RSD, and other similiar pickup material is some terrible advice for people like OP. First you get your own life together before you go out and try to impress girls. | ||
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Mothra
United States1448 Posts
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sluggaslamoo
Australia4494 Posts
Go learn breakdancing (preferably called bboying/breaking) You don't need to spend a single penny to learn it and you can practice anywhere, in your own room, or flatten a bunch of cardboard boxes with duct tape and make a makeshift d-floor to practice on outside. Spend a year practicing a few hours everyday and you will be able to rock up in a club, start dancing, and girls will throw themselves at you. You did say you lived in a rural area though so I dunno as much about this part, but you can still break anywhere and you don't have to carry anything with you to do it. I suggest learning powermoves/freezes from the beginning as well as footwork, even though everyone suggests learning footwork in the beginning. Powermoves become more bothersome to learn the better you get, so its better to learn from the get go. It will also make you super fucking fit. Your gym strength should help a lot with it too. http://www.bboy.org --- You did mention guitar. Acoustic guitar (enough for girls to like), actually doesn't take that long. To master, it is one of the hardest instruments when you get to fingerstyle (I've spent about 8 years guitar w' 2 years fingerstyle), but country stuff is fine and attractive and would only take you a few months. Guitar actually stops being that much more attractive from then on, once you get technical, they care more about the music than your skill. Acoustic guitars cost money though, which seemed to be one of your requirements. | ||
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