Ask HN: Can learning mathematics improve cognition and develop creative skills?

Mathematics has always been a mystery to me from an early age and I haven't thought of seriously pursuing it until recently. I currently doing well as a software engineer and don't plan to completely change my domain and this is just me exploring different avenues. I am thinking along the lines of learning mathematics to improve my general cognitive and creative skills. I wanted to know - 1. If learning serious mathematics lead to an improvement in cognitive and creative skills? 2. Or do creative skills require specific training rather than just general cognitive improvement? 3. Or have I completely misunderstood the role of mathematics?