Intellectual interests outside of/completely unrelated to your field?

[ihatepencils]

I'm a mathematics major applying for a PhD in pure mathematics. I spend a lot of time with music and film. Sometimes I envision my second life where I am a comparative literature major specializing in film studies. I also enjoying reading literature...though I don't nearly read as much as I should!

Edited February 8, 2014 by ihatepencils

[darmok]

I'm so obsessed with Astrophysics and Neil DeGrasse Tyson I'm starting to wonder if I choose the wrong major. 

Dude, I've wasted hours reading/listening to that man. I totally feel you. Not to mention too much Carl Sagan, Brian Greene and NOVA in my free time... anyone who isn't interested in astrophysics just hasn't been exposed to it enough! 

[FreeRadical]

Epidemiology is my field, but I play chess for fun. Also existential psychology is the closest thing I have to religion, and I read a lot of Rollo May, Paul Tillich, Otto Rank, Viktor Frankl and others. Apparently I'm drawn more toward the German/Austrian tradition than French existentialists like Sartre and Camus.

[FreeRadical]

Dude, I've wasted hours reading/listening to that man. I totally feel you. Not to mention too much Carl Sagan, Brian Greene and NOVA in my free time... anyone who isn't interested in astrophysics just hasn't been exposed to it enough! 

 

Hey, have you ever been to Tenagrah? My friend Gilad was there right after the walls fell.

Edited February 11, 2014 by FreeRadical

[Marina CM]

I am an Architect and a EECS student. Outside this, I pretty much enjoy listening to Opera and anything that ends with -boxing (Boxing, Kickboxing, Thai Boxing).

[darmok]

Hey, have you ever been to Tenagrah? My friend Gilad was there right after the walls fell.

 

You just made my day. 

[DigDeep(inactive)]

I am a paleoanthropologist and love it. But, I also love brewing beer and good coffee (I live in the Pacific NW), and I once had a professor tell me that the only thing worth reading is journal articles when he saw me reading a sci-fi book. But, I love Sci-Fi and Science Fantasy and you will never stop me from reading it! Neverrrrrrr!! 

 

Anywho, I hope to write a post-apocalypse, dystopian novel eventually. I also love collecting vinyl records, and anything outdoors (camping, hiking, rock-climbing, etc.). I draw pen and ink surrealism, I love IDM music, and like most I have an obsession with collecting books. I'm sitting in a room with towers of books everywhere. I have a problem.............................................................oh and I like pipe tobacco. 

Edited February 17, 2014 by DigDeep

[dat_nerd]

But, I also love brewing beer and good coffee (I live in the Pacific NW)

I moved from the Pacific NW recently, and haven't had decent espresso since.

[DigDeep(inactive)]

I moved from the Pacific NW recently, and haven't had decent espresso since.

 

Haha, I bet! I am a coffee snob, for sure. I can't help it. You can be up here I suppose - I mean good coffee everywhere! Well........I suppose I coulddddd mail you some Stumptown?

[gingin6789]

My second major during undergrad was philosophy, but I'm going to graduate school for sociology.  So, I love keeping up with my philosophy friends and I frequent the philosophy forum here as well!  It's a good thing there's tons of overlap between the two disciplines, too =)

Edited February 17, 2014 by gingin6789

[IRToni]

I am very interested in all things math-y, but found I didn't enjoy studying it as much as just reading about interesting discoveries, trying to replicate proofs etc. It's one of those things I hate when I'm forced to do it, but love when I can choose to do it.

 

Aside from that, I am also very interested in physics, basically finding out how everything works. I'm also super interested in linguistics, especially of languages I am learning, but also in general!

 

I have many secondary interests, some of which I might be able to build into my studies/thesis (computer programming, big data stuff), but I also find that having outside-interests that I don't HAVE to do helps me stay on-task and motivated! There are also many grey zones of stuff that I am interested in, and that turns out to be useful for my studies/life, especially Chinese history/philosophy!

[I am not sure yet]

and i know all the lines to all three godfather movies

 

haha people think I'm crazy because I know all the lines to LOTR movies (extended version), but I'm not the only one!

 

When I'm not busy doing that or trying to get into grad school, I like photography and video-games (Skirim rocks!)

[ihatepencils]

I am very interested in all things math-y, but found I didn't enjoy studying it as much as just reading about interesting discoveries, trying to replicate proofs etc. It's one of those things I hate when I'm forced to do it, but love when I can choose to do it.

 

Aside from that, I am also very interested in physics, basically finding out how everything works. I'm also super interested in linguistics, especially of languages I am learning, but also in general!

 

I have many secondary interests, some of which I might be able to build into my studies/thesis (computer programming, big data stuff), but I also find that having outside-interests that I don't HAVE to do helps me stay on-task and motivated! There are also many grey zones of stuff that I am interested in, and that turns out to be useful for my studies/life, especially Chinese history/philosophy!

 

That's awesome! I'm a mathematics major myself and it makes me pretty happy when I see people outside of the field who find it fascinating. What sort of things in math do you like to read about? 

[meep15]

While I hope to go to grad school for social work, my three-year undergraduate career included sociology/criminology, a minor in history, and certificates in law, justice, and culture and European studies. 

Some of my favorite topics from undergrad focuses and focused on 20th century history (specifically WWII, Eastern Europe, and the Holocaust), critical legal and criminological theories, the intersection of race, gender, SES, age in different life situations, conditions within prisons and post-release conditions for ex-offenders, and post-conflict societies. 

Depending on if I'm actually accepted, I think that I've been quite lucky that I was able to pursue topics I'm truly interested in during undergrad, while starting to focus on a professional degree with a couple of SW courses during my last two semesters here. 

[PhDerp]

I couldn't think of one when I read this, but I realize that I have a few academic "hobbies"!

 

-Neuroscience (just getting into; hardly know anything yet)

-Social justice (not well-read, but familiar with and actively involved in)

-Nutrition (decently well-read in)

-Physics (know way less than I should)

 

Also, in general, languages. To-date: Spanish, Latin, Russian, German, Japanese, ASL. Best at Spanish and Russian!

 

What I actually study: computer science, mathematics, and linguistics

 

 

I also just realized this thread is kind of just "list your hobby", not your intellectual pursuit. XD Whoops!
Fencing. Grappling. I love aggressive sports for some reason!

Cooking. Singing. I want to go back to acapella singing in school, if I can. If not, I'd like to try hip-hop dancing.

Alcohol. Beer and wine.

Coding. Hackathons. Puzzles. Competitions for these things.

Cosplay. Video games.

Edited February 26, 2014 by PhDerp

[gr8pumpkin]

I am very interested in all things math-y, but found I didn't enjoy studying it as much as just reading about interesting discoveries, trying to replicate proofs etc. It's one of those things I hate when I'm forced to do it, but love when I can choose to do it.

 

 

This; I could've written this.  I'm really interested in number theory; other areas of math not so much.

[FreeRadical]

This; I could've written this.  I'm really interested in number theory; other areas of math not so much.

 

Funny you mention number theory... I heard about Godel's incompleteness theorems on an episode of Radiolab, which led me to read the book "Godel's Proof" by Ernest Nagel, which led me to "Godel Escher Bach" by Douglas Hofstadter. Hard to imagine another book having such an impact my thinking.

[gr8pumpkin]

Not to brag, but I had lunch with Hofstadter last summer.  Okay, it is to brag.

[FreeRadical]

Not to brag, but I had lunch with Hofstadter last summer.  Okay, it is to brag.

 

+20

 

When you looked into his eyes, did it feel like you were looking at the back of your own head?

[PhDerp]

Not to brag, but I had lunch with Hofstadter last summer.  Okay, it is to brag.

 

Not to earn that brag, but you did. That's freakin' cool.

Is he eccentric? He better be eccentric.

[MoJuiced]

I came to creative writing so that I would not have to narrow my focus of subjects. I believe in the power of generalists -- the specialists need people to bridge the divides.

 

Richard Feynman said so much and I know he wasn't joking.

 

"In this age of specialization men who thoroughly know one field are often incompetent to discuss another. The great problems of the relations between one and another aspect of human activity have for this reason been discussed less and less in public. When we look at the past great debates on these subjects we feel jealous of those times, for we should have liked the excitement of such argument. The old problems, such as the relation of science and religion, are still with us, and I believe present as difficult dilemmas as ever, but they are not often publicly discussed because of the limitations of specialization."

 

Everything is connected; everything is one thing. Universe.

[GreenePony]

I also just realized this thread is kind of just "list your hobby", not your intellectual pursuit. XD Whoops!

Fencing. Grappling. I love aggressive sports for some reason!

Cooking. Singing. I want to go back to acapella singing in school, if I can. If not, I'd like to try hip-hop dancing.

Alcohol. Beer and wine.

Coding. Hackathons. Puzzles. Competitions for these things.

Cosplay. Video games.

Tried explaining cosplay to friends yesterday (because they saw Heroes of Cosplay and that that was the entirety of the culture), it was surprisingly difficult. I think understanding it requires a real vested interest in some sort of fandom, and they grew up in households where that wasn't okay. Whereas I grew up in one where I started watching Stargate (and SG-1, then SG-A, never got into SG-U) in elementary school with my dad and DH got me an Earth POO/Glyph necklace for Christmas.

I think being in museums, I'm encouraged to have a diversity of interests. Knowing about animal husbandry got me a volunteer position that could lead to a contract with a very well known conservator. That being said, even DH - the self-proclaimed King of Random Knowledge - says my interests are a bit wide spread: historic textiles and costuming, animal husbandry and physiology, military history, history of the Christian church, jazz history... think that's it for the major interests

[gr8pumpkin]

+20

 

When you looked into his eyes, did it feel like you were looking at the back of your own head?

Absolutely.  Not many people know this, but he is a very fine composer.

[PhDerp]

Tried explaining cosplay to friends yesterday (because they saw Heroes of Cosplay and that that was the entirety of the culture), it was surprisingly difficult. I think understanding it requires a real vested interest in some sort of fandom, and they grew up in households where that wasn't okay. Whereas I grew up in one where I started watching Stargate (and SG-1, then SG-A, never got into SG-U) in elementary school with my dad and DH got me an Earth POO/Glyph necklace for Christmas.

 

Cooool! Great series. I was definitely more into SG-1 than any other Stargate series.

Doing Babylon 5 now, which is a different kind of sci-fi... I feel like I missed something important!

[RunnerGrad]

I have a wide variety of interests.  I wish I could just be a university student forever and continue to study new and interesting subjects.  I just love learning.

 

I'm definitely interested in food science and food technology, which are close to nutrition, but certainly not the same.  The science behind the making of beer, wine, cheese, etc. is very cool.

 

I also enjoy studying kinesiology and exercise science.  Biomechanics is fascinating. 

 

I've taken numerous Classics courses and I'm fascinated by the Roman Republic and Empire, and Ancient Egypt.

 

I enjoy learning languages.  I've studied French and German and wish I had time to learn more languages, or to further develop my competencies in French and/or German.

 

I enjoy learing about astronomy and astrophysics, up to a certain point.  String theory makes me head hurt.  I did take one astronomy elective that I greatly enjoyed, and I like watching "The Universe" and similar types of shows on History/Discovery/National Geographic/Science.

 

The history of science.  How discoveries were made.

 

Psychology.  Especially health behaviour theories.  Why do people continue to do things they know are bad for them, and why don't they do things that they know are good for them?

 

There are more.  I could go on and on.  I just love learning new things.