What are the top hobbies that make you smarter?

 Any hobby that allows you to experience from the Learning Loop will make you better, stronger and smarter.

So long as you absorb and apply feedback through this loop, you’ll become smarter.

Beyond this learning loop, these hobbies are proven to help people lead a smarter and balanced life.

Reading - Expand Your Mind

Warren Buffet told students at a Columbia Business School: “Read 500 pages…every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.” Enough said :).

Writing - Structure How You Brain Thinks

Jeff Bezos doesn’t allow his employees to express new ideas as slides….he only accepts written documents and narratives. There’s good reason for this. Writing is one of the best ways to train yourself how to structure an argument, build a story and convey ideas logically.

Education - Build Intellectual Wealth

Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, said “I am concerned that too many people are focused too much on money and not on their greatest wealth, which is their education.” Education is one of the best ways to expand your mind and increase intelligence.

Music - Expanded Cognitive Skills

While studies differ on whether there is such a thing as the Mozart Effect (a hypothesis put forward by Dr Gordon Shaw, that listening to Mozart while studying boosts IQ), listening to music is one of the very best ways to get into ‘flow’. Whether you’re studying or working on a complex problem, music can help your brain do its best work. And playing a musical instrument has been proven to increase cognitive skills and brain function. So if music is food for your ears, eat well and nutritiously :)

Martial Arts/Dance/Yoga/Focused Exercise - Know Your Body, Know Yourself

Intellectual intelligence is different from body intelligence. Truly knowing ourselves requires us to connect our mind and our body. Any hobby that does this - martial arts, dance, yoga, sports - will help you build this connection and learn about yourself.