How to develop/improve your logical thinking skills?

What do you guys do other than your IT work to keep your logical skills sharp in order to thrive in IT? I need some suggestions. I need ways to improve upon my current skill level. Does musical instruments, chess, mystery novels help at all?

Help me out guys! Thanks!

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UnixGuy

The answer is yes! I recommend martial arts. It's not gonna translate directly to IT career but it's excellent for your overall physical and mental well being.

RockinRobin

Martial arts...Interesting. Any particular type of martial arts you suggest?

UnixGuy

It really is a matter of personal taste, brazilian jiu jitsu seems popular...

Also, any group activity is great for boosting your personal skills - like Soccer or Basket ball, you'll make friends and get fit.

TheFORCE

Read books, watch documentaries, watch Ted talks, read newspapers, follow the news, play some games for relaxation, and work out, run a miles.

JockVSJock

TheFORCE wrote: »

read newspapers, follow the news

I would strongly recommend against this, as the majority of it is negative and manipulated propaganda.

I've stopped consuming all news and feel that its a positive step in the right direction.

Kai123

Take 400mg of chelated magnesium before bed, extremely important for brain function and most people have of deficiency in it, and eat more fish.

cyberguypr

Or just read the comments sections on the hottest stories. The stupidity there will stimulate your brain and make you better yourself.

tpatt100

I like reading NPR's news stories, the comments section of any news site is usually full of examples of people commenting about the story and proving they didn't actually read it.

News blogs have taught me a lot about critical thinking skills though. I sometimes will read the blog then follow the source and see how badly the blog misrepresented the source.

RockinRobin

Thanks guys! I bought a martial arts book years ago, but never read it through "Living the Martial Way". I think I'll break it out, and read a little each day.

I played the violin and cello back in grade school. That seemed to be pretty stimulating. That's a possibility, also.

Reading comments from news stories always end up with folks insulting each other, and that's draining to me. Think I'll stay away from that. LOL

JoJoCal19

cyberguypr wrote: »

Or just read the comments sections on the hottest stories. The stupidity there will stimulate your brain and make you better yourself.

Haha that's why my rule is NEVER read the comments. No better way to lose faith in humanity than to read the comments on news stories.

E Double U

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

Haha that's why my rule is NEVER read the comments. No better way to lose faith in humanity than to read the comments on news stories.

My rule is opposite of yours. I read a headline and go straight to the comments LOL.

ImYourOnlyDJ

Taking Math courses really helps with logical thinking and problem solving. Calculus 1 has been such a difference in my thought process and problem solving that I almost feel the need to take Calc 2

Verities

UnixGuy wrote: »

The answer is yes! I recommend martial arts. It's not gonna translate directly to IT career but it's excellent for your overall physical and mental well being.

I second on martial arts. Among other things, it helps you pay more attention to detail which is a very useful skill in IT.

[Deleted User]

I agree with calculus. When I was in college (god feels hard to say after I graduated in May 2015) Calculus 1 was the hardest class I have ever taken in my life. I barely passed but got a C in the class. Overall it teaches you real world problem solving utilizing complex thinking where traditional math such as Algebra uses perfect scenarios. Calculus doesn't use perfect situations if that makes sense. Calculus lets you focus on details such as exponents and following order of operations PEMDAS etc.

Mooseboost

UnixGuy wrote: »

It really is a matter of personal taste, brazilian jiu jitsu seems popular...

Also, any group activity is great for boosting your personal skills - like Soccer or Basket ball, you'll make friends and get fit.

I will second BJJ. I haven't been doing it but a year or so, but I can tell it has made a huge difference in my personality. I am only a blue belt but I have learned a lot of disciple and how to really push myself. I find myself able to be more dedicated now. I've also lost about 40lbs doing it.

kohr-ah

I enjoy Chess to help with this.

When I did martial arts I enjoyed Shaolin Kempo a lot. Was very fun and peaceful but coordinating.

If you are a gamer I always enjoyed puzzle games to help with logic like "Professor Layden" series where it isn't just video games but constant puzzles. Or older games like 7th Guess, 11th Hour. Etc.

phantasm

For Martial Arts I have studied Wah Lum Tam Tui, Shotokahn Karate, Tai Chai, and Enshin Karate. I enjoyed Wah Lum Tam Tui the most. Besides martial arts I like chess and anything that makes me thing strategically.

TheFORCE

JockVSJock wrote: »

I would strongly recommend against this, as the majority of it is negative and manipulated propaganda.

I've stopped consuming all news and feel that its a positive step in the right direction.

That is why you need to be informed and read different news sites so you can know and improve your logical thinking.

Node Man

My method is to learn a new programming language every year.

JockVSJock

TheFORCE wrote: »

That is why you need to be informed and read different news sites so you can know and improve your logical thinking.

Informed on what? Fear? Misinformation? The majority of corporate, mainstream media is owned by a small few. The alternative media is just as bad, pushing fear, only wanting to scare you.

Ascetik

Read Aristotle's Logic. Read Plato, Plotinus, St. Thomas Aquinas. Philosophy helped me a great deal with discursive thinking and logical thought.

kly630

^That's an interesting one. The most useful philosophy course there is is the formal course on logic. Which is actually a highly mathematical and technical course at some schools. I wound up getting my first introduction to finite state automata in a 300 level philosophy class at university. Didn't realize it was also so a huge topic in a comp-sci til I took the computational theory course years later in prep for a masters.

bloodshotbetty

I took up yoga last fall and it is teaching me how to clear my mind of distractions so I have the ability to think logically. Plus, it reverses a lot of the bodily damage that comes with sitting all day at a desk.

I find that my mind becomes stronger if I take time to read every night.

CCNTrainee

This has been an interesting read, makes me wonder what other hobbies/activities fellow users do to occupy their time. Now that I am out of the military, looking for something else to get into now that I have much more free time. Getting back into yoga would be a start for me again.

bloodshotbetty

CCNTrainee wrote: »

This has been an interesting read, makes me wonder what other hobbies/activities fellow users do to occupy their time. Now that I am out of the military, looking for something else to get into now that I have much more free time. Getting back into yoga would be a start for me again.

YESSSS! Do it.

OfWolfAndMan

Mental (And Physical) endurance: Weights, cardio, yoga, martial arts, etc (They all work IF you make an effort).
Mental preparedness for a work-based convo: Read something related to your career a night whether it be an article, white paper, etc.
Sharp mental presentation: Learn something new from a thesaurus daily and use cases (This is really just a good thing for communication/writing when you are expressing your thoughts in a blog or writing an email).
Mental relaxation: this one could be a million different things and it depends on you.
Mental reinforcement: surround yourself with people with your similar interests/aspirations whether it be work related, idealistic, or hobby. This really helps for the purpose of friends. Try meetup if you have one in the area.
Mental improvement: Not the news, unless you want to watch a room full of clowns squeeze their red noses and play musical unicycle.

phantasm

bloodshotbetty wrote: »

I took up yoga last fall and it is teaching me how to clear my mind of distractions so I have the ability to think logically. Plus, it reverses a lot of the bodily damage that comes with sitting all day at a desk.

I find that my mind becomes stronger if I take time to read every night.

I've heard that yoga is good for your body as well as mind. Me personally, i put in my iPod and hit the weights 6 days a week. It helps with stress reduction and fitness overall. At work I get up once an hour and walk .5 miles. That's distance from one of the DC to the other and back to my desk.

UnixGuy

bloodshotbetty wrote: »

... Plus, it reverses a lot of the bodily damage that comes with sitting all day at a desk.

...

+1

The damage from sitting all is real...I reverse that with weightlifting...

Mooseboost

bloodshotbetty wrote: »

I took up yoga last fall and it is teaching me how to clear my mind of distractions so I have the ability to think logically. Plus, it reverses a lot of the bodily damage that comes with sitting all day at a desk.

I find that my mind becomes stronger if I take time to read every night.

I have tried so much to get into Yoga. I really need it (Knee surgery / steel plate in arm) but every program I find is crazy. The "beginner" stuff is beyond me.

kohr-ah

Mooseboost wrote: »

I have tried so much to get into Yoga. I really need it (Knee surgery / steel plate in arm) but every program I find is crazy. The "beginner" stuff is beyond me.

As odd as it sounds try to find on youtube the p90x yoga session (or p90x3). It isn't too bad and is very peaceful.