For some people hobbies such as playing football, watching TV and going shopping just don’t cut it. While it could be argued that each one involves some level of analytical ability, for those who really like to challenge themselves it’s not nearly enough. There are all sorts of hobbies believed to help raise your IQ and satisfy those with analytical tendencies though. If you have a highly analytical mind, then any of the following three hobbies could offer a good option to try.
1. Forex Trading
The financial world is a complex one, that requires a great knowledge of many different areas to become an expert in it. One area that can appeal to those with an analytical mind is forex. Buying and selling currencies involves analysing a lot of historical data, trends, using graphs and charting tools and some element of speculation.
A good place to start is with a forex demo account, as this involves zero risk as you aren’t trading with real money. There’s plenty of information about the world of forex to read first and using a demo account offers a good starting point, for both analysis, charting and practicing placing traders. Find out more here about opening a forex demo account.
Chess and Poker
Chess is renowned for being popular with quizzical thinkers. Predicting your opponent’s move, being aware of every potential outcome and thinking ahead all require a high level of analysis. There are various strategies that can be read up on and digested too.
Poker, on the other hand, is generally seen as more of a gamble. Yet there’s a reason the world’s best poker players exist. A lot of research has gone into the stats behind poker hands, predicting potential outcomes and of course reading the other players. To be the very best (and make some money too) an analytical mind will help.
3. Prospecting for Gold
It may sound old fashioned and even foolish, but prospecting for gold is a very analytical process. The first stage is getting a good understanding of geology and the history of gold mining, before learning some of the techniques for prospecting.
Once you have this backbone, actually prospecting for gold involves analysing geological formations, samples, erosion patterns and collecting samples which you need to plot on maps. It can be quite physical, hiking over hills and mountains, and if your analysis is correct, you may even find some gold.
These are just three analytical hobbies to start with but there are many more you can try.
