Waxing (or maybe waning) philosophically: Hobby or habit?

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economistandfisherman

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 11, 2018
257
3
Was watching an episode of MASH last night, and Col. Potter handed Radar a cigar and Radar asked 'Is it habit forming?' and Potter responds 'Son, I've been smoking 5 cigars a day for 45 years and never got the habit' to which Radar responds 'that's good to know'.
It got me thinking about how much of my pipe and cigar smoking (30 years now) is attributable to habit or hobby? Before this I smoked cigarettes, but hated them...I smoked them more out of peer pressure than anything. To me, though, cigarette smoking is more of an addiction, and I don't want to go there in this post.
Let me give my definition of habit versus hobby so people can respond:
To me, a habit is something that I do without thinking about it. Sometimes I'll feel for my pipe in my pocket but not pull it out...I do this out of habit. Sometimes after smoking half a Griffen, I'll put it back in its tube and twirl the tube around in my fingers...out of habit. That sort of thing.
On the other hand, hobby is something you do because it's interesting to you and you do it consciously.
So how much do I smoke pipes out of habit and/or hobby?
Well, I'm a late day smoker, and I find that I habitually grab my pipe around the 3 to 4 pm time frame without knowing I'm doing it (habit). On the other hand, the one thing I really look forward to is choosing a tobacco out of my rotation of about 15 different tobaccos, and matching it to my mood that day...or even blending two or three of the 15 together in an effort to experiment with different flavors (hobby).
If I had to guess, I smoke a pipe out of habit with a weight of 40% and out of hobby 60%...how about you? What would your percentages be? Also, if you have some more waxing (or again, waning is probably a better word) philosophy, don't hesitate to add to this...

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
Hobby. Anything people care about enough about to be on a forum for is a hobby as opposed to a mere habit. If you crap twice a day, it's a habit. If you crap twice a day and read magazines about it, buy special accessories for it, ooh and aah over other peoples' accessories for it, and are on a forum to talk about it constantly, it's a goddamned hobby. There are tons of pipe smokers who just smoke out of habit. We'll never hear from them about their pipe smoking. You know why? Because it's just a habit for them.

 

economistandfisherman

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 11, 2018
257
3
I think everyone smokes a pipe because of both habit and hobby, what I'm interested in are the percentage weights on each...for instance, is it 30% hobby and 70% habit? The other way around? Is it 10% hobby and only 90% habit? Is it 50/50? Etc. I think there's a lot of hobby in it...just look at all the discussions on this site surrounding different pipes and different tobaccos...none of that has to do with habit as much as it is the hobby of smoking a pipe.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,079
Carmel Valley, CA
Can be either, but unless you're collecting pipes, or tins, just to have them, that'd be the hobby part. Smoking would be closer to a habit.
Me, I don't like to think of it as either; it's just something I do.
In any case, enjoy!

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
For God's sake man, you can't quantify everything. There's little enough magic and whimsy in the world as it is!

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
I'm an aircraft mechanic by trade; you don't see houses doing a red-eye from Scranton to Vegas, do you? :rofl:

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
A red-eye is a late-night, usually non-stop flight known for it's discounted ticket price. Scranton is a good place to get out of, Vegas is a fun place to go to, and houses shouldn't fly just because I deal with airplanes for a living.

 

timt

Lifer
Jul 19, 2018
2,844
22,729
you don't see houses doing a red-eye from Scranton to Vegas, do you?
What the hell does that even mean! LOL [8O]

Funny stuff! Here I thought I was just short on coffee this morning and wasn't comprehending fully.
To answer your question; Habit at least 90%. A habit that I'm justifying by making it a hobby too. There aren't many things I do willingly, half way. If any thing is worth doing, it's worth over doing. It's why I gave up the booze many years ago.

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
Cos, you know how they've been promising flying cars since the thirties, and we still haven't got them yet? That's all me.

 
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