1085
we need better hobbies
(mander.xyz)
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
You sound like you're way smarter than I am, but I can absolutely relate to bordom=pain.
I'm constantly learning new things, or delving deeper into subjects I'm already familiar with. I can't help it. My brain won't have it any other way (otherwise I get destructive)
I could just be further down the path due to lucky opportunities. 20 years ago I had no ambitions beyond game programming. It was only when I got a biology-related job that learning in my free time started displacing mindless entertainment. The whole field is one big nerd snipe - there are endless opportunities where you can advance the frontier of knowledge by combining a few existing ideas and working out the kinks. The more you read, the more opportunities you see. It's thrilling. I don't think I can go back to non-science work.
I think the dopamine from constant learning also helps to keep my ADHD in check. If I start the weekend with some study, I'll usually also get the housework done. If I start with a video game or TV show, I'll probably spend the rest of the weekend stressing about my todo list and not getting anything done.
Agent based models and cellular automata are so exciting.