People With Highly Analytical Minds Love These 11 Hobbies That Confuse Average Thinkers
These challenging brain exercises aren't for the average Joe.
MAYA LAB / Shutterstock Analytical minds work differently from an average mind. They see intricate patterns and can connect the dots on challenging puzzles. This is why they're drawn to hobbies that require their full attention.
People with highly analytical minds often love hobbies that confuse average thinkers. Most of these hobbies can be very time-consuming, providing analytical minds with opportunities to thrive and further sharpen their skills. These strategic activities might be too complicated for someone who prefers to use their free time by doomscrolling.
People with highly analytical minds love these 11 hobbies that confuse average thinkers
1. Chess or long board games
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Though the average person views this as a game their grandparents taught them when they were little and abandoned because they couldn't figure out how to beat them, people with highly analytical minds couldn't give up until they did. Games that take a long time and need good strategy plans are precisely the type of games you'd see in their cabinet.
These board games not only stimulate their minds but can also support their cognitive health. Just because a game is supposed to be fun doesn't mean that it shouldn't require critical thinking.
2. Coding projects
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This might sound like a stressful school project to some, but to people with analytical minds, it's just their Saturday afternoon. When average people think of coding, they may only see it as how the back end of a website works and bug fixing. But people who know how to code also know how many possibilities there are in coding. From creating fun games to even DJing, coding requires more creativity than people may think.
If someone spends their free time coding a game, whether complex or straightforward, it helps develop technical skills and foster curiosity just enough to give them a new goal every time they open their laptop.
3. Puzzles
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People with analytical minds love nothing more than a puzzle, from 500+ piece puzzles to those confusing ones like Sudoku. Don't be surprised when they're also the first ones to complete The New York Times Connections puzzle on their first try. Not only do they like to challenge their own brains, but they also indulge in knowing that they are the first ones to complete a puzzle before anyone else can, further fueling their need to figure out the puzzle.
The reason why these types of people love puzzles so much is that it helps them tackle different cognitive challenges through different combinations, and they even find them restorative. Just by doing one small crossword puzzle, you can get a boost in your memory and focus.
4. Data-driven investing
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To someone who naturally has an analytical mind, they realize they can easily use their skills to start saving up some more money. Investing is hard to get right, and a tiny mistake could lead to the loss of a lot of money, which is why it's the perfect activity for those who are aware of every intricate detail of their portfolio.
Because analytical minds love to gather helpful information, they can determine the best possible investments and when to make them. More often than not, they may even be better than your financial advisor, or even be your financial advisor.
5. Learning scientific theories
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For the analytical mind, learning doesn't end in the classroom or upon graduation. They constantly want to learn about scientific or philosophical theories they may not have heard of yet, and dive into them. They may not be reading textbooks persay, but their YouTube history could be full of videos about quantum mechanics or the Fermi paradox.
People who like to spend their time learning something new rather than sinking into their couch and clicking "still watching" on Netflix often do so to feel a sense of accomplishment. Older people can be just as good at learning something new as they were when they were kids in school learning about long division for the first time.
6. Writing thoughtful essays
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Many people may have had difficulty writing coherent essays in school, but for those with analytical minds, that was just their warm-up. These types of people find that expressing their thoughts and beliefs to a friend just isn't enough, so they decide to write an essay about it, which they often upload to Medium or their Substack.
Writing these types of essays can be very engaging, not just for the writer but for the reader. There are many life experiences that many people can't quite put into words, yet, somehow, analytical people have written an entire essay about them.
7. Creating a robot or machine from scratch
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This is a bit more advanced than solving a simple Sudoku puzzle, but people with highly analytical minds love the challenge and the opportunity to take things to the next level. This is one of those hobbies that can take months or years to build, and it becomes a passion project. Learning from failures and getting through challenges is everything that helps stimulate a more evolved way of thinking.
They can end up creating a complete moving robot or some mechanism that does a simple task the second you press a button. Regardless, they're using their brains to the fullest and having fun while doing so.
8. Solving cold cases
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There are certain cold cases or unsolved mysteries that intrigue highly analytical people because they believe they can find information or clues that others haven't yet. There are even citizens who view themselves as detectives and help uncover mysteries that were put to rest years ago.
Solving puzzles is exactly what these types of people enjoy doing in their free time, and sometimes the puzzles might be bigger than them, such as this, for example. To unravel mysteries, they need to understand people's behavior and use logic, so even if they don't find anything that helps solve the case, the process itself is rewarding because it allows them to lean into their strategy and obsession-level focus.
9. Learning a dead language
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Although an average person might consider learning a dead language, such as Latin, useless, people with analytical minds see it more as a way to challenge themselves. Although it is a dead language, it can help this person in the long run if they want to learn other languages, since all modern languages stem from dead ones.
So learning Latin will make it easier to learn languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, and many others. So that trip to Europe will not only be in their cards in the future, but learning more foreign languages will also help open doors to career advancements and opportunities.
10. Archival research
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People with analytical minds not only invest their time in their future, but they also feel the need to learn about the past. Researching and digging through archives is another hobby that the average person might not even consider. This can be a fun way to spend an afternoon for people who like looking through old photos. They learn more about what society used to look like and how far along we've come since then.
This can also be a fun activity to do when learning about where someone or something came from and their history. Deep diving into a subject is not new to analytical minds. They might even find old pictures of their own families or buildings they recognize to this day.
11. Urban exploring
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Similar to archival research, urban exploring can exhilarate someone with an analytical mind by visiting old buildings or streets that have stood for countless years and learning about their history and the reasons they were built. This is a great hobby not only because they learn something new, but also because it gets them to go outside and walk while they explore their home, or even turn it into a fun road trip.
By learning about the historical significance of something, they also grow sentimental towards it. Countless historical buildings are demolished all the time because they're left abandoned with no protection. So many people turn this hobby into a passion and become preservationists so that in years to come, when others are just as curious as they are, they can learn and see the history that comes with a town or city.
These hobbies not only help people become more intelligent and skilled, but they can also impact those around them. Starting with a small puzzle, such as a crossword, can start you on the path to becoming the smartest, most interesting person in the room.
Doreen Albuerne is a writer with a bachelor's degree in journalism, covering relationships, mental health, and lifestyle topics.
