In addition to being a brilliant physicist, Albert Einstein was a great musician. The scholar practiced the violin from an early age, when his mother – a pianist! – introduced him to the instrument. Although he never considered pursuing a career in music, he has played with a few professionals in the field, including pianist Kurt Appelbaum.
Steve Jobs also appreciated the music. The inventor of the iPhone liked to listen to different genres of music and played Bob Dylan on guitar. Furthermore, he was considered an audiophile: a person who enjoys listening to music trying to achieve a musical quality as close as possible to the original recording.
Alan Turing is considered one of the most important mathematicians in world history, as well as one of the fathers of computing. In addition to being an ace at math, he was also an excellent runner. Although he only became interested in the sport at the age of 30, he made up for lost time. He nearly caught up with medalist Tom Richards, whose time was just 11 minutes behind Turing's.
John Maynar Keynes was one of the most influential economists of the 20th century and one of the minds behind Keynesianism. In addition, he was also a great arts enthusiast. Being a very wealthy man and believing that he should put his wealth to good use, he started an art collection. Among his paintings, there were pieces by Picasso, Seurat and Cezanne. 135 of his artworks have been donated to the University of Cambridge.
He also financed several theaters, opera houses and dance companies. In addition, he was a member of the Bloomsbury Group, which brought together British artists and intellectuals who agreed on the importance of art and were engaged in aesthetic experiments in its name.
Keynes was not the only one to make this list. Satoshi Tajiri, creator of Pokemon, also had his collection, but it was, shall we say… Unusual. As a child, the electronic game designer had the habit of studying and collecting insects. He was even known as Dr. Inspector by colleagues. However, this activity was essential for him to create Pokemon as an adult. If you notice, almost all of them have some resemblance to animals.
I don't know if we can call "gambling" a hobby, but it was one of the favorite activities of mathematician Ada Lovelace. The creator of the first algorithm to be processed by a machine, she inherited a serious gambling problem from her father. During the 1840s, she lost what would today be the equivalent of £280,000 (almost R$ 2 million) betting on horses. Mathematics even tried to come up with an algorithm to earn more money on bets, but it was unsuccessful.
People with an above-average IQ tend to enjoy hobbies that exercise their creativity or cognition. Therefore, they really like to do things with their own hands, such as drawing, painting, handicrafts or even to cook. In addition to these activities boosting memory and promoting focus and discipline, they are also relaxing and stress-relieving.
They also look for hobbies where they can get their heads down, such as solving sudoku, crosswords or riddles. Incredibly, playing video games can also fall into this category, especially exploration games or games that involve a puzzle to be solved.
Finally, smart people are also in the habit of exercising regularly. Not high tension and performance exercises, but light physical activities such as walking or running, swimming or bodybuilding.