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Play is a slippery concept.
We all seem to know when we are doing it
but have difficulty figuring out what it is
and what it does.

Think of play as a jiggling within structures
Games are play engines: they provide structuring rules with lots of room to jiggle
Nature is a fantastic play engine but, contrary to games, its structures are hidden

 
The most effective definition of play I know belongs to Jean Piaget.
Piaget explains play as an adaptive behavior.
Our adaptive behaviors range from imitation to play.
In imitation we accommodate to adapt: we try to change to fit the model.
In play we assimilate to adapt: we ingest the model:
we jiggle it, squeeze it, taste it, and so on, to make it ours.
Imitation makes us follow models of the world.
Play makes us flow with the world.

Think of the world as our playground.
Think of ourselves as children playing in the world.
Imagine we try all sorts of ways of playing.
Consider that our only rule is that the play must go on.
Could we accept such destiny and be pleased with it?
This is the basis of a new existentialism.
Play gives us total engagement with the world.
Playing calls for a pragmatic approach to life and a constant awareness & management of interactivity.
To be self-aware of our play in the world
gives us the basis for managing our interactive potentials.
What are our playground rules for the world?
Julio Cortázar explored them in narrative.
Jorge Luis Borges created all sorts of models of possible worlds.
Artists tend to play with play.
Scientists like Bohr and Poincaré tend to structure games to play.
In theatre (a medium for which play is native) we have festive play

 

 

Openings (most recent entries appear first)

 

A classic but dated book on play from a cultural perspective is
Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture by Johan Huizinga.
(Interactive Life is my attempt to update Huzinga's classic).
Ultimately: play is the thing.

 

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