What drives you? What are your subjects of interest as an adult?

[dusters]

Hello.

Preface is that according to modern psychology humans have two positive base emotions: joy and interest/curiosity (named happiness and surprise in scientific literature).

To lead a healthy life one must feel these two often enough lest other five base emotions (fear, anger, disgust, sadness, contempt) take over and person becomes unhappy.

As an adult one has duties to fulfill, be it job, marriage, parenthood. One has limited time after these duties and it is usually used for recreational activities and to study/do things we find enjoyable.

What are those things you do daily that fit such criteria of giving you mostly joy and intellectual satisfaction/feeding your curiosity?

Ps.

I know there are younger people on forum as well and you are welcome to chime in with things you do after school.

***


For me right now it's an exploration of Creativity. Also anthropology as such. How do people live in different parts of the world?

Understanding the limits of the human body. Are people who are ambidextrous also more intelligent than right-handed and left-handed people?

How does the perception of the world change if a right-handed person learns to write with his left hand for months?

Does it give something, change a person's character and way of thinking?

Are there gestures that all humans understand because they are passed down from generation to generation, as animals have genetic memory?

How does handwriting reflect a person's character? How does people's thinking change when they learn to write Arabic from right to left?

What does a Renaissance man mean in the 21st century? A Leonardo Da Vinci type person who knows anatomy, medicine, engineering, and painting?

Where are such people to be found, are they in laboratories and in scientific institutes? If there is no correlation between high IQ and ethics and morality, then why do people with photographic memory and fast navigation in large amounts of data still end up in prison? What is their motivation?

 

[Zardnaar]

DMing Dungeons and Dragons count?

 

[dusters]

Anything that objectively prolongs your lifespan does.

 

[amadeus]

Trivia and esoterica. Stuff that has zero applicability to my professional or social life.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Hello.

Preface is that according to modern psychology humans have two positive base emotions: joy and interest/curiosity (named happiness and surprise in scientific literature).

To lead a healthy life one must feel these two often enough lest other five base emotions (fear, anger, disgust, sadness, contempt) take over and person becomes unhappy.

As an adult one has duties to fulfill, be it job, marriage, parenthood. One has limited time after these duties and it is usually used for recreational activities and to study/do things we find enjoyable.

What are those things you do daily that fit such criteria of giving you mostly joy and intellectual satisfaction/feeding your curiosity?

Ps.

I know there are younger people on forum as well and you are welcome to chime in with things you do after school.

***


For me right now it's an exploration of Creativity. Also anthropology as such. How do people live in different parts of the world?

Understanding the limits of the human body. Are people who are ambidextrous also more intelligent than right-handed and left-handed people?

How does the perception of the world change if a right-handed person learns to write with his left hand for months?

Does it give something, change a person's character and way of thinking?

Are there gestures that all humans understand because they are passed down from generation to generation, as animals have genetic memory?

How does handwriting reflect a person's character? How does people's thinking change when they learn to write Arabic from right to left?

What does a Renaissance man mean in the 21st century? A Leonardo Da Vinci type person who knows anatomy, medicine, engineering, and painting?

Where are such people to be found, are they in laboratories and in scientific institutes? If there is no correlation between high IQ and ethics and morality, then why do people with photographic memory and fast navigation in large amounts of data still end up in prison? What is their motivation?

Things I do daily that give me intellectual satisfaction and feed my creativity, and give joy...

Well, the joy part is easy. Maddy gives me joy. She's 16 1/2 years old, and every day that she's still alive is a relief. There are times when I watch her breathe, relieved that she's still as okay as an elderly cat can be. She took a sudden downturn shortly after her birthday last year during a heat wave - wasn't eating or drinking enough, and that's usually a very bad sign in an elderly cat. I got her through it, though. I took the food and water to her, and hand fed her and either held the water bowl up to her for easier access or poured water in my hand for her to lap up. She made it through.

The rest... I never stopped wanting to learn new things. I can't fathom people who abandon their sense of curiosity. It was really sad one day at the main bus stop downtown a few decades ago. I'd just come from the bookstore, having bought Dicing With Dragons, by one of the creators of the Fighting Fantasy game (I currently co-admin a FB group dedicated to that game). I couldn't wait to start reading it, the buses wouldn't be along for another 10-15 minutes, so I opened the book and started to read.

A young girl of about 12 saw the dragon on the front cover and said in a scornful voice, "There's no such thing as dragons!".

I told her, "There are, in our imaginations."

She said, "No there aren't" and went off elsewhere to wait. I found that very sad that a 12-year-old had given up on imagination. But then at her age I'd discovered Star Trek, my interest in astronomy and other sciences had been rekindled, and so I started reading voraciously on a much wider array of topics than ever before.

I've read a lot more of Asimov's essays than his fiction; his essay collections were my free-reading go-to and my bedtime reading. My classmates couldn't wrap their heads around it - me reading science essays and astronomy books when I didn't have to. They'd ask, "What class is that for?" and when I said none, I was reading it for fun, they shook their heads and clearly thought I was nuts. Why would anyone read nonfiction for fun? They couldn't fathom it. They'd probably have had the same reaction years later when I started reading Roman history for fun.

So how I'm currently dealing with this is all tied up with writing. That first NaNoWriMo win in 2016 was a novelization of one of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, and after pulling that off in November plus the two subsequent Camp NaNoWriMo events the following April and July, I decided that a hat trick like that proved my win wasn't a fluke - I did it once, so I could do it again. I had to sit November 2017 out because the computer decided to break down at the worst possible time; it spent part of November in the repair shop and there's no way I could have caught up. So November 2017 was a bust. But from 2018 on, it's been a winning streak no matter if the Camp events or the main events in November. I've found my writing niche (to my surprise it's not science fiction, but rather historical fantasy, whether novelizing a game or based on a favorite TV show or movie), and would need another lifetime to write all the ideas that have come along. I've accomplished what NaNo originator Chris Baty hoped people would do: Writing is part of my daily life in a way that eating and drinking and feeding that cat are. I write every day, in addition to posting here, on a couple of other forums, and on FB and YT.

Writing anything history-related, for me, means research. Even if it's historical fantasy. I won't claim I found joy in researching medieval torture methods for my own story or when I helped a friend with his Highlander story by researching execution methods used in the late Roman Republic. Both of us needed to know these things to make our stories more authentic, because for one thing it's a matter of pride and satisfaction to know what we're talking about, and for two things, our targeted readers would also be familiar with these details. Nobody wants feedback that says, "You screwed up."

(Just yesterday I was thanked by a Merlin fanfic author for diplomatically pointing out that if Lancelot married Queen Mithian, his title wouldn't be "Queen-Consort"; I explained what his title should be, depending on a couple of factors, and she said she'd make the change - an easy fix because it's only a few changes in 3 chapters. Why point this out? It was taking me out of the story.)

I'm learning lots of other things in my research as well. I planned to have a storyline in which a bunch of immortal/Immortal characters, for various reasons, end up on the same trans-Atlantic cruise. Oops, I know nothing about cruise ships. Well, there's no shortage of YouTube videos on the subject, from the pov of both passengers, reviewers, and crew. In fact, I'm so tempted to include a couple of the reviewers in the story as a kind of cameo (they're quite entertaining), but then this story couldn't be posted on fanfiction.net due to the rules against including real people who aren't historical figures.

This is all what counteracts the anger and depression over the political situation in my province. I take no joy in that these days. None whatsoever.

DMing Dungeons and Dragons count?

DMing requires being organized, having an imagination, and a good sense of storytelling, regardless if you're running an already-published commercial campaign or making up your own. It requires being able to think on your feet while sitting down, because there's not a D&D player anywhere who didn't find a loophole in the rules (or who doesn't at least try) and attempted to convince you that their actions will work without violating the rules, and the consequences will make cow pies of your intended campaign - do you allow their action, not allow it, or allow it in a limited way? Whether their argument involves a loophole or just some unorthodox strategy that you or the campaign creator didn't anticipate, that's something that needs to be decided quickly.

There can be immense satisfaction in resolving situations like these, no matter which side of the screen you're on. One of the strategies I used as a player was fully legal, I 'borrowed' it from a novel by Joel Rosenberg, and one of my fellow players gasped, and asked, "What alignment are you?! " I don't recall what my stated alignment was for that campaign - part of it was Neutral, and my character was a magic-user. But the action (while aggressive in a way I would never do in RL) was intended to help get our group out of a tight spot, was not premeditated murder, so the DM allowed it.

Anything that objectively prolongs your lifespan does.

I assume you mean that experiencing the positive emotions you listed objectively prolong your lifespan?

I would include "love" in that list, btw. I do not gain joy or happiness when my cat does something destructive, but I still love her.

 

[dusters]

Thanks for all that write-up Valka. I have always found your posts and views insightful and the more I know about you, the more you can be like role model to girls I teach daily in my eyes. They are 9 - 17 year old girls, grades 3 to 12, they play Roblox (no idea what it is), listen to music and wear fancy clothes. They usually find physics and math boring, but at least some of them read a lot, but sometimes it is books like "Sabrina the teenage witch" or "Twilight" and I can't call those books better than soap operas on TV.

Thanks to you I started reading Asimov as well. I did some research on Carl Sagan.

Yea. I assume that just like physical body needs food and all nutrients, our nervous system needs positive emotions to thrive. I have always found a notion that "women live longer, because they laugh and smile more" noteworthy. There are many other factors why women live longer than men, but that one is important as well. I'm consciously trying to appreciate the mundane things more and smile more.

I got a cat 1.5 years ago (thanks for advice back then) and she gives me a lot of joy as well.

 

[IglooDame]

Mainly screwing with other folks' brains.

Assuming their consent, if it is anything beyond casual contact. Causing that half-second of brainlock in random encounters or bystanders is always a special treat.

 

[Akka]

Getting more free time to enjoy activities that I like (i.e. video games and spending quality time with the gf/friends/pet/family) in a comfortable environment.
Basically everything I've ever done in my life has been either directly related or as a mean to get the resources to reach that.

 

[Ajidica]

Swordfighting and early medieval textile arts (thanks Society for Creative Anachronism!).
I also love early medieval history and modern history, and read a lot on that. In particular the cold war in Europe and post-colonial Africa.

Otherwise, I enjoy building model kits and model trains, but I haven't done much with either of those lately. Been distracted by SCA projects.

 

[dusters]

Swordfighting and early medieval textile arts (thanks Society for Creative Anachronism!).
I also love early medieval history and modern history, and read a lot on that. In particular the cold war in Europe and post-colonial Africa.

Otherwise, I enjoy building model kits and model trains, but I haven't done much with either of those lately. Been distracted by SCA projects.

Where do you train swordfighting? There are many styles. Is it japanese like Kendo? Or Eastern with scimitars? Or British with claymores? Is it with 2-handed swords?

 

[Gorbles]

Nothing I have time for anymore

Games design, software engineering (though it's my job, and I have to work to keep interests separate to maintain a healthy balance) and playing water polo.

Weirdly, on water polo, I don't really care to watch it much (I don't watch sports generally, to be fair, unless it's a social thing). But my playing fell off since the pandemic and I've had enough health issues combined with IRL events that have stopped me returning to it regularly. I catch up with my old team once or twice a year. It'd still be nice to get back into it "at some point", but I have no idea when that point would be.

My wife and I have a 6yo and a 3yo, as well as two cats, so generally my emotions can reliably be described as "tired".

 

[JPetroski]

During lockdown I was looking for something new to do and keep my interest and I stumbled across a YouTube video of this guy making model airplanes. I decided to try it and ended up sticking with the hobby., While I still have a long way to go, I've come very far in the past three years and it has been fun to see the progress. I'll often head downstairs into my workshop with a beer and either a spotify playlist or a good book on audible and just hack away at these. I find it's a great pastime when it's too cold to fish. Of all the "art" I do, I think this is my best, and that's probably because I study better modelers intently and practice frequently. I've tried applying that same concept to drawing and am starting to see some results there as well.

Here's a few of my better ones (even if I did screw up the aft antenna on the corsair lol).

Spoiler :

Compare those to the first one I ever tried!

Spoiler :

 

[Farm Boy]

Hello.

Preface is that according to modern psychology humans have two positive base emotions: joy and interest/curiosity (named happiness and surprise in scientific literature).

To lead a healthy life one must feel these two often enough lest other five base emotions (fear, anger, disgust, sadness, contempt) take over and person becomes unhappy.

As an adult one has duties to fulfill, be it job, marriage, parenthood. One has limited time after these duties and it is usually used for recreational activities and to study/do things we find enjoyable.

What are those things you do daily that fit such criteria of giving you mostly joy and intellectual satisfaction/feeding your curiosity?

Ps.

I know there are younger people on forum as well and you are welcome to chime in with things you do after school.

***


For me right now it's an exploration of Creativity. Also anthropology as such. How do people live in different parts of the world?

Understanding the limits of the human body. Are people who are ambidextrous also more intelligent than right-handed and left-handed people?

How does the perception of the world change if a right-handed person learns to write with his left hand for months?

Does it give something, change a person's character and way of thinking?

Are there gestures that all humans understand because they are passed down from generation to generation, as animals have genetic memory?

How does handwriting reflect a person's character? How does people's thinking change when they learn to write Arabic from right to left?

What does a Renaissance man mean in the 21st century? A Leonardo Da Vinci type person who knows anatomy, medicine, engineering, and painting?

Where are such people to be found, are they in laboratories and in scientific institutes? If there is no correlation between high IQ and ethics and morality, then why do people with photographic memory and fast navigation in large amounts of data still end up in prison? What is their motivation?

I sometimes remember those first two right in the phase between wakefulness and dreaming.

I don't enjoy the experience.

 

[Joij21]

As an adult one has duties to fulfill

Says who? Spook.

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

I have, and always shall be...a gamer.

 

[Fippy]

Creative cooking, planting my own stuff (spring time again soon! ) and nature in general (going places with my bike) are my main hobbies besides gaming.
I can def. say those things drive me every year, and winter can be a bit annoying cos nature hobbies are on hold.

 

[Ajidica]

Where do you train swordfighting? There are many styles. Is it japanese like Kendo? Or Eastern with scimitars? Or British with claymores? Is it with 2-handed swords?

I do it through the local SCA group. The style I do is medieval fencing (which after a few centuries evolved into olympic sport fencing. Our version uses longer, heavier swords so there is a greater focus on blade contact. I'm also slowly learning saber. (Specifically trooper/hussar saber, in contrast to gymnasium saber, which uses a much lighter blade and consequently has a greater focus on speed to score touch-hits.)
The SCA also features "armored combat" which has you in full steel armor, but use weapons made of rattan (a cross between bamboo and wood). Although this means it tends to resemble stick-tag more than actual swordfighting, it also means you don't have to be insane like the nutters who do Battle of the Nations or buhurt.
(There is a common principle in reenactment swordfighting. There are three things you can do - real weapons, real force, real armor - but to do it safely for modern purposes you can only choose 2. A system where you use real weapons and real armor, which is what the fencing and saber does, means you can't do real force. We try and deliver hits to positive pressure.
The people doing armored combat use real force and real armor, but they have to use rattan.

Spoiler for size, I'm the one in blue :

(I also realize how bad my form is here! I shouldn't be rolling by back ankle like that.)

During lockdown I was looking for something new to do and keep my interest and I stumbled across a YouTube video of this guy making model airplanes. I decided to try it and ended up sticking with the hobby., While I still have a long way to go, I've come very far in the past three years and it has been fun to see the progress. I'll often head downstairs into my workshop with a beer and either a spotify playlist or a good book on audible and just hack away at these. I find it's a great pastime when it's too cold to fish. Of all the "art" I do, I think this is my best, and that's probably because I study better modelers intently and practice frequently. I've tried applying that same concept to drawing and am starting to see some results there as well.

Here's a few of my better ones (even if I did screw up the aft antenna on the corsair lol).

Spoiler :

View attachment 684033

View attachment 684035

View attachment 684038

Compare those to the first one I ever tried!

Spoiler :

View attachment 684037

WOW!!! Those are outstanding! Way better than my paint jobs!
I've found I have a hard time doing light weather and shading. Lacking an airbrush I have to rely on multiple layers of thin paint to get an even covering, and that doesn't really work well with light weathering and shading I've found.
(I use mainly Tamiya paints with the leveller that goes with the alcohol based acrylics. I sometimes use enamels for metals and water based acrylics when I have them handy and need that specific color.)
My battered Arab T-55, and I still haven't gotten around to finishing up the wheels and track. (Mainly because I have no idea how to weather the track. It is made of a slippery plastic that won't hold paint, and primer seems to crack when applied.)

Spoiler :

And the HMS Exeter, probably one of my favorite builds. Everything about it just came together nicely with minimal fuss.

Spoiler :

 

[JPetroski]

WOW!!! Those are outstanding! Way better than my paint jobs!
I've found I have a hard time doing light weather and shading. Lacking an airbrush I have to rely on multiple layers of thin paint to get an even covering, and that doesn't really work well with light weathering and shading I've found.
(I use mainly Tamiya paints with the leveller that goes with the alcohol based acrylics. I sometimes use enamels for metals and water based acrylics when I have them handy and need that specific color.)
My battered Arab T-55, and I still haven't gotten around to finishing up the wheels and track. (Mainly because I have no idea how to weather the track. It is made of a slippery plastic that won't hold paint, and primer seems to crack when applied.)

Thank you but yours look great too! I could never brush paint anything near that well! Even if I try just doing small sections, it comes out "meh."

I use a variety of paints. I quite like Vallejo Model Air acrylics since I use an airbrush and it's just hassle free, IMO (at least with larger nozzles). I have a large assortment of Tamiya as well. To be honest, the paint I enjoyed working with the most was Mr. Paint (that I used on the Ukranian Su27 above). It's a lacquer and worked very well for me, but it's expensive to keep changing the paints every few years as I tinker (I started with Testors, then went to Mission Models which I really dislike as it's too flaky, then Tamiya, and Vallejo). I think the real key is starting off with a lacquer so you can then do things like insignia etc. with an acrylic and easily touch it up if you mess up without removing the underlying paint. If I ever invest in a 1/32 Corsair some day I might try that out.

I found that getting an airbrush was 100% a life changing moment - there's just so much you can do in terms of pre and post shading, etc. and there's really not to much to them to be honest. I use a respirator because I don't have a good ventilation system but someday I'll get a nice workshop.

For weathering I really like pastels. I use them for smoke, but I assume they'd also work well for dirt, etc. Tamiya sells some but you can also just grab any pastels at the art store and they'd work OK. Oil pants are also really great for streaks and such as well as just adding little variations to the color/making it worn down. I used them quite a bit on the Tomcat because I messed up the painting (didn't do a section under the wing) and had to make it blend in. Definitely worth picking some up and playing around. They're easy to remove if you don't like something which makes them great, IMO.

If you haven't checked out Plasmo's YouTube channel ever, give it a go. Some day I'd love to be half as good as him.

 

[Ajidica]

Thanks! My current project is a model of a German steam locomotive; then I need to decide if I finish up projects sitting in the naughty box, or attempt my 1/700 model of the nuclear battlecruiser Kirov with photo etched brass!
When I get a place with room for an actual workbench - instead of a folding table next to my computer - I'm getting an airbrush first thing!

 

[GenMarshall]

I have, and always shall be...a gamer.

My only motivation with that is it gives me a form of escapism from the real world and politics.