I have been entertained just by learning about different subjects most of my life, but I consciously realized it only relatively recently. That was probably at least in part because these days I have more free time to think about my life (i.e., I’m bored).

By learning for entertainment I’m referring to the things I like to learn about just because I’m interested in them, and not for any useful purpose. The range of such things has become larger with age, obviously because of how my life has changed, but it’s always been pretty broad.

As one example of learning for entertainment, at one time advances or changes in criminal investigation methods were important for me to learn because I was a criminal investigator. Those days are long behind me, though, and something like current challenges to the validity of fingerprint analysis cannot affect me in any way unless I get charged with a crime due to a misidentification. I am nevertheless still interested in the subject, as I am about other current investigative methods such as DNA analysis.

Some of the other subjects that I like to learn about simply because I’m interested in them, and not because they have any useful purpose in my life today:

History. Military/social, not only what happened, but also why; medical: plagues, theories, methods of treatment, etc.; spies, espionage, codes and ciphers, other methods of intelligence gathering; firearms and other weaponry, especially nuclear weapons.
Law enforcement. Not only investigative techniques, but other theories and practices such as crisis negotiations, deescalation, equipment.
Firearms ballistics.
Long range shooting methods and equipment.
Comparing religions.
Science. Physics, biology, astronomy, evolution, nuclear energy, optics, etc.
Photography.

So, how about you? What do you like to learn about just because it’s interesting, i.e., entertainment rather than of specific practical value?

And last: If you want to signal your virtue by telling us that you don’t bother learning anything that’s not of practical value to you, go right ahead; just don’t forget that we will know why you’re cluttering up this thread that way.

Offshore racing sailboats.

They are making some astounding progress in the mini 6.5 designs - starting to look almost cetacean, and the speeds of both those and the giant boats are getting incredible- crossing the Atlantic in 7 days etc

Seems almost daily I will end up going down a rabbit hole on a subject, or aspect of a subject to learn more. Sometimes just for an evening, other times for days or weeks

Drives the wife crazy. “All you do is just look at your phone or laptop”. Even when I explain what I’m researching that day

How to expertly use my Kindle. I’m pretty sure that I know more about its file system than most Kindle users do. And I make good use of that knowledge.

Latest and greatest encryption/decryption and hashing algorithms. They're pretty cool FYI and really smart folks came up with them.

For no practical reason, I spent a couple of years in my spare time reading about general aviation airplanes. Why you would pick a piston engine propeller plane, a turboprop or a jet. How far each one can fly, how many people or how much stuff you could take, how bit of a runway they need. I read about all the people that live in fly-in communities, living at an airport. It was all interesting to me, and I'm ready to pick out my plane if I win the lottery.

I've read a dozen or more books on WWII. That hobby is dormant right now, but you never know when it might get activated again.

I've been deep down the barbecue pit. Read a bunch of forums, a couple of books, took some classes. This rabbit hole turned out to be practical as I now have an annual barbecue, and host 50 people. The party is a big hit, I get lots of compliments and people can't wait to come back next year.

Right now I'm going down the rabbit hole of silencers/suppressors. The technology was a little bit stagnant IMHO for 100 years and then in about 2023 it started rapidly advancing due to 3D printing.

My brain always needs to be working on something, and then I pretty regularly need to change it up and go learn something new.

quote:

Originally posted by Bytes:
Latest and greatest encryption/decryption and hashing algorithms. They're pretty cool FYI and really smart folks came up with them.

You're right that's fascinating stuff. My math is not strong enough to understand it, but getting a fell for the general architecture is fascinating and can help one choose those kinds of tools for practical use.

For me it's modern physics, and physics history. There are so many incredible geniuses who brought the world into the world of modern physics, really incredibly people with that level of advanced intelligence and level of abstraction is hard to imagine. It's still hard to understand, but when you get an "aha" moment, it's worth it. Like when I learned that light doesn't actually travel in the conventional sense and why and how that is. The real world is far more freaky than actual democrats. Sorry couldn't help myself.

And auto mechanics, the DIY home variety of course.

Geopolitics/game theory and some related logistics. William Spaniel, What’s Going On With Shipping?, Warfronts and a few others are on my daily watch list on YouTube.

I'm watching knot tying how too's, had know idea how many useful knots there are.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
Sorry couldn't help myself.

That's the purpose of this thread.

Seeking more things to learn for entertainment.

quote:

Originally posted by ibanda:
This rabbit hole turned out to be practical ....

And sometimes that happens.

Just for entertainment?

The only thing off the top of my head is occasional movies or TV series'.

But for both entertainment and serious pursuits, I'd say current events, music...listening and playing/singing and finance/stock market.

I'm "entertained" by reading financial and current event/political news every morning. But I also apply it to my life in a serious way.

Playing music is more than just entertainment as I play out with groups of people and I don't want to suck.

Watches
Diamonds
Pens
Leather goods

I'm all over the place with these sorts of things as many subjects interest me. Lately I've been doing a lot of reading about shipwrecks of the Great Lakes and in the NY Finger Lakes (i.e. canal boats from the early to mid 1800's). This has led to me watching youtube videos on the subject.

What form does this learning take? Lately I've been watching lots of youtube videos about well drilling. (??)

I would say anything that provides sufficient information to begin learning.

As you learn you will seek greater and better knowledge sources, but there are quite a few very good youtube channels with well presented material on a large range of subjects.

Time and time dilation.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
As you learn you will seek greater and better knowledge sources, but there are quite a few very good youtube channels with well presented material on a large range of subjects.

I could not say that better.

Although I am curious about everyone’s interests for whatever reasons, what I was thinking of when I started this thread are topics that we follow just because we find them interesting, not because they are of any useful value.

For example, I’ve been reading a lot of history recently, including The Surgeon, The Midwife, The Quack by Alanna Skuse which is a history of medical practices in Europe (mostly Great Britian) during the Renaissance. I’m not about to try to cure myself of any disease with a potion containing boiled deer penises, but the ideas that people had in those days fascinate me. And the learning? Well, now I know some more useless—but entertaining—facts to go with the myriad others I know.

Culinary skills are something I'm always learning. I enrolled in an online culinary school awhile back. I get to eat my homework. Lots of good YouTube stuff to avail yourself of as well. Lately I have been following some of these artifact amateur archeologists who unearth some pretty astonishing things along washed out river banks. Also folks who travel to iconic places in film. I watched a guy who went to Spain and showed places where The Good The Bad and The Ugly were filmed. Spain had the military put in 5000 mock graves for the graveyard scene. Director Sergio Leone wanted 10,000 graves but he settled for the 5000.

A variety of history topics. Mostly reading but some shows or Youtube channels. Something will catch my eye and I'll check it out.

Vacuum tube circuit design is something I'd like to get back into. The world had moved on to transistors when I was old enough to start messing with everything electronic and then studying electrical engineering in college. The math and concepts in tube circuits are fascinatingly different than solid state. The math for analog solid state audio and digital signal processing of audio is essentially identical, but tubes circuits are unique.

I watch a lot of YouTube videos having to do with watch repair and shoe repair.

Basic watch repair as a hobby I can do with most of the tools I purchased from Esslingers and Amazon, shoe repair not so much.