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[Mindmaker]

There's a reason he used the word "if".

I know, it's just that I don't see the correlation. They offer vastly different experiences.
Also chess shouldn't be thrown in the same pot as sudoku or crossword puzzles.
It just feels wrong...

[G-Flex]

Whether or not they "offer vastly different experiences" depends on what kind of game you're playing in the first place. It would be easy to say that most games are mindless or don't require much investment, but on the other hand, you could make the same argument against film, or any other medium.

[GlyphGryph]

Chess isn't actually "useful" or "profitable" or "fulfilling" by Shiney's definition, and thus is right out.

Other than being quite a bit more fun, I'm not sure I see a qualitative difference between chess and other puzzle games, of which Sudoku and Crossword Puzzles certainly count.

[Grimshot]

Rub a whetstone on your head

 I can't believe how far over my head that went.

 Anyways, I just wanted to say I didn't get anything done today sadly. My brother visited and took up all my time. All of it. Atleast I went on a walk as suggested though. It was fairly horrible though due to mosquitoe swarms. I swear you could kill one and two would take its place. I'll have to look up proper meditation technique tomorrow, hopefully without interruption this time lol.

Do Video Games Count as a Hobby?

Nope, Most Definitely not.
Video Games count as a Pass-Time.
Finding a way to get paid to play video games, or reviewing video games could be considered a hobby.

Generally, to be considered a hobby, whatever your doing has to both be something That gives you a challenge, or something you have to learn and spend time to become good at, while at the same time being something you enjoy. It also has to either A:Useful, B:Fulfilling, Or C:Money MakingLearning to cook cultivates a skill that you will find useful for your entire life.
Building Models or Cultivating plants gives you something physical or cool in return for your hard work and leaves you with a sense of accomplishment.
Learning a programming language, or how to build computers, or how to repair cars, Gives you a marketable skill that could allow you a future career doing something you enjoy.

When you play video games, you enjoy the moment, and feel a brief since of accomplishment when you finally beat it, but that's quickly forgotten once you realized you just spent 40 hours of your life on something and have nothing to show for it.

 @bolded part

 Seems like a lot of games could fit into that, just my opinion though.

I may have to try Sudoku sometime. Also, I vaguely remember hearing about a Japanese game that was like chess but with more complexity. Anyone happen to know the name of that?

[Vector]

That's Go.

You should play--it's really fun, and I prefer it to chess.


As far as the hobbies/whatever goes, do what makes you happy.  There's too much obsession in this culture with "utility," "money," and "value."

What was the saying... "He who dies with the most toys is still dead?"

Just do your best to make memories and do things that you consider worthwhile.  I personally feel that a major cause of depression is allowing society to tell one what to value.  So, value yourself and your decisions, and have a grand old time =)

[Grimshot]

That's Go.

You should play--it's really fun, and I prefer it to chess.


As far as the hobbies/whatever goes, do what makes you happy.  There's too much obsession in this culture with "utility," "money," and "value."

What was the saying... "He who dies with the most toys is still dead?"

Just do your best to make memories and do things that you consider worthwhile.  I personally feel that a major cause of depression is allowing society to tell one what to value.  So, value yourself and your decisions, and have a grand old time =)

 Thanks 

 Both for the name of the game and the advice. I would also like to thank everyone else for their help so far before I forget. I should get some sleep now. All that walking and blood loss from mosquitoes has tired me out lol.

[GlyphGryph]

Yeah, Go is pretty awesome.

[G-Flex]

Chess isn't actually "useful" or "profitable" or "fulfilling" by Shiney's definition, and thus is right out.

Other than being quite a bit more fun, I'm not sure I see a qualitative difference between chess and other puzzle games, of which Sudoku and Crossword Puzzles certainly count.

Of course there are qualitative differences; the latter two aren't even games. In chess, for one thing, you're playing against someone: You have to predict how they'll react to your moves and what they might do. Also, chess is a game. Actions have consequences, and possibilities unfold (and diminish) as moves are made and the game progresses. A game of chess (or anything else reasonably complex) has a lot of potential at the beginning and diverges wildly as it goes on, and part of the goal is dealing with that. This is not the same as a puzzle (sudoku, crosswords, etc.), which is essentially static: What there is about a crossword to figure out is basically set in stone, as you're just trying to uncover the right answer to something.

This isn't to say that puzzles are bad, but there's a huge difference between a puzzle and a game.

[Grimshot]

 I've looked up meditation, it seems theres a lot of different ways to go about it. I think I'll just experiment until I find something that works well for me. As for exercising my mind, I figured I would try to become ambidextrous, build my math skills, and learn some new words and how to spell them. That should work my brain on several different levels. I'm also considering learning how to speak and write Enochian, mostly for the irony. I should probably learn something useful like Japanese though lol.

[Dimitri]

Eat well and take long walks.  Four hours long, if you can.  Allow yourself to get lost.

I envy people that live in areas where they can do this like they do in the movies.

Last time I tried biking in my current area, I nearly got mauled by a pit-bull. Walking is out of the question.

Simplest bit of advice I can give: Learn something new every day.
Even if it's useless trivia, it gives you something to think about, and that's key to keeping your wits sharp: active thinking.
To make it even more effective, try to learn facts about various interests of yours on a regular basis. Simple -and- fun.

I'll echo cooking and hobbies: I generally enjoy cooking quite a bit (Assuming it isn't in a set time-frame), and I've been painting miniatures and making scenery for a few years now.

Both give a sense of accomplishment, and you have a very physical end result that you can enjoy.
You can find critics for both, and helpful, constructive criticism is a major motivational factor, for me at least.

Hopefully that was 'somewhat' helpful.

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

Rub a whetstone on your head

 I can't believe how far over my head that went.

It's sure to sharpen your mind!

[Levi]

I'm going to third the Go suggestion.  Its a great game and requires several kinds of thinking.  When I was getting my comp-sci degree one guy brought a go board into the labs and started teaching people to play it.  It wasn't long before before half the comp-sci department was playing the game. 

I have a vague memory of someone telling me that there is an unusually low prevalence of Alzheimer among old people who play go, but I don't have a source so I'm not sure that is true. 

Edit:
A good site I used to play online at is http://www.gokgs.com/

[Grimshot]

I'm going to third the Go suggestion.  Its a great game and requires several kinds of thinking.  When I was getting my comp-sci degree one guy brought a go board into the labs and started teaching people to play it.  It wasn't long before before half the comp-sci department was playing the game. 

I have a vague memory of someone telling me that there is an unusually low prevalence of Alzheimer among old people who play go, but I don't have a source so I'm not sure that is true. 

Edit:
A good site I used to play online at is http://www.gokgs.com/

 Thanks for the link . I was actually about to ask for something like that. I don't think I could get any of my family to play and I don't actually know anyone outside of them, so yeah.

[smokingwreckage]

One part of sharpening your mind is sharpening your not-mind. Try to attain and maintain some degree of physical fitness. Balance games exercise the brain a lot. There are whole bunches of grey matter that don't take part in intellectual pursuits and they need maintenance, too.

Also, do you have room to garden? I strongly recommend it for emotional health.

Spend some time each day not thinking or generating busy-work or fidgeting; walk, observe, appreciate beauty.

Paint, or sketch, or engage in some fort of art - not on your computer. Interact with the tools and the medium.

[Eagle_eye]

Occasionally I'll have brief periods where I'm running on autopilot and can't focus well. Writing something or making something usually helps. Just do something that requires your full attention.