Write, read challenging works of literature, learn an instrument and play music, listen to art music, learn to paint or draw, or take an acting class.
Or any other art, such as woodworking or pottery.
Or any other art, such as woodworking or pottery.
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!
> 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.
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.