In this post i shall explore the concept of ‘play’.
Play is a very complex concept, it has been with us since we grew brains beyond nuclei, you can just look at animals to see it happen. It cannot be described as silly as when playing there is a high element of seriousness which increases with the level of immersion into the game being played. It can also not be described as serious as a high level of enjoyment can be perceived from the game. The best way to describe play is a semi-structured freedom which is fun yet serious in context.
Play is an instinctive behavior which originates from primordial times when survival was not an immediate issue, it taught us to fight and made strong social bonds necessary to survive with the pack, it can still be seen in chimps today. Our complacency and banality of society through the ages as a species is a large deciding factor in the amount of play involved, this can be seen in the more recent years as the video games industry grows so does our interest in escapism and play, we as a species have no pressing need to survive and so devote more time to play.
In ancient times if we were particularly angry or enraged we would take out our anger on others most likely with violence, play has given a non-harmful resolution to this which allows people to have conflict and let out their destructive instincts play themselves out without destroying one another.
Play is not limited to games either, reading a book can be considered play. The mind wanders playing out the content being read, catharsis happens immersing the reader as they find enjoyment from the narrative but still keep a serious mindset while approaching the story. This applies to many other things too, play is rendered in many different facets of everyday life from day-dreaming watching birds at the park to sorting out reports for your boss, almost any part of life can be changed into play by approaching it with the right mindset.
In conclusion play is semi-structured fun freedom which is contextually serious which has dragged man from the primordial soup and kept it from destroying itself as a species while keeping life bearable.
Play is a very complex concept, it has been with us since we grew brains beyond nuclei, you can just look at animals to see it happen. It cannot be described as silly as when playing there is a high element of seriousness which increases with the level of immersion into the game being played. It can also not be described as serious as a high level of enjoyment can be perceived from the game. The best way to describe play is a semi-structured freedom which is fun yet serious in context.
Play is an instinctive behavior which originates from primordial times when survival was not an immediate issue, it taught us to fight and made strong social bonds necessary to survive with the pack, it can still be seen in chimps today. Our complacency and banality of society through the ages as a species is a large deciding factor in the amount of play involved, this can be seen in the more recent years as the video games industry grows so does our interest in escapism and play, we as a species have no pressing need to survive and so devote more time to play.
In ancient times if we were particularly angry or enraged we would take out our anger on others most likely with violence, play has given a non-harmful resolution to this which allows people to have conflict and let out their destructive instincts play themselves out without destroying one another.
Play is not limited to games either, reading a book can be considered play. The mind wanders playing out the content being read, catharsis happens immersing the reader as they find enjoyment from the narrative but still keep a serious mindset while approaching the story. This applies to many other things too, play is rendered in many different facets of everyday life from day-dreaming watching birds at the park to sorting out reports for your boss, almost any part of life can be changed into play by approaching it with the right mindset.
In conclusion play is semi-structured fun freedom which is contextually serious which has dragged man from the primordial soup and kept it from destroying itself as a species while keeping life bearable.
