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The question was posed on a site dedicated to discussion of programming and related subjects. It therefore should be assumed that the author was requesting advi

The question was posed on a site dedicated to discussion of programming and related subjects. It therefore should be assumed that the author was requesting advice for developing abstract reasoning skills such as are employed in mathematics or software engineering. Your suggestions require explanation as to why they would help this sort of abstract reasoning. As a matter of fact, many people who are proficient in the skills you mention are hopeless at the type of abstract thought used in math and computer programming, so the skills you list are certainly not sufficient. Most of them are also not necessary (all apart from writing and reading challenging literature?).

mezod 9y ago
It's true that HN is mostly for devs/engineers but aren't we that awesome that we can be interested in everything else too? :P My original question was broad on purpose, and I appreciate every single answer, it allows for a healthy discussion!
jamestimmins 9y ago
How sad life would be if we only learned what was necessary! Oftentimes abstract thinking isn't about learning to create programmatic mental models of things, but about learning to see a problem from various perspectives. Doing so gives one's understanding more depth. These recommendations, the arts as a whole, are extremely valuable at teaching different perspectives for understanding things.
tremens 9y ago
This comment is strikingly myopic and follows a strain of insular opinion that seems to have become more popular in recent years in tech circles ("Most of them are also not necessary"). Music and the arts have long been documented as wonderful ways to enhance abstract thinking. And you might become a well rounded person as an added bonus!
- Myrmornis 9y ago
  You might want to look up the definition of necessary! > Music and the arts have long been documented as wonderful ways to enhance abstract thinking. That is entirely consistent with them not being necessary to develop abstract thinking :) I was just being logical, and trying to provide some subtle humor by giving the dry reply of a caricatured technophile rationalist to OP's evident enthusiasm for the arts.

mezod 9y ago

It's true that HN is mostly for devs/engineers but aren't we that awesome that we can be interested in everything else too? :P My original question was broad on purpose, and I appreciate every single answer, it allows for a healthy discussion!

jamestimmins 9y ago

How sad life would be if we only learned what was necessary! Oftentimes abstract thinking isn't about learning to create programmatic mental models of things, but about learning to see a problem from various perspectives. Doing so gives one's understanding more depth. These recommendations, the arts as a whole, are extremely valuable at teaching different perspectives for understanding things.

tremens 9y ago

This comment is strikingly myopic and follows a strain of insular opinion that seems to have become more popular in recent years in tech circles ("Most of them are also not necessary"). Music and the arts have long been documented as wonderful ways to enhance abstract thinking. And you might become a well rounded person as an added bonus!

Myrmornis 9y ago
You might want to look up the definition of necessary! > Music and the arts have long been documented as wonderful ways to enhance abstract thinking. That is entirely consistent with them not being necessary to develop abstract thinking :) I was just being logical, and trying to provide some subtle humor by giving the dry reply of a caricatured technophile rationalist to OP's evident enthusiasm for the arts.