The Serious Business of Playfulness

, Ethnographer, Technopedagogue, Learning Pathways Strategist

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Some of us like to play\nIn fact, there are people who feel like they were born to play\nBut playfulness isn't exclusive and it's not just about playahs\n

As we keep saying in social sciences, playing is the natural thing to do.\nY'know, young animals try out their roles through play so\nThere isn't anything strange about playfulness\n

Of course, human children play as well and\nwe tend to associate playfulness with kids.\nSome playfulness is lost as we grow older but, basically, we keep on playing\n

The thing about playing, though, is that\nit's usually more fun to do with others.\nSure, we may be introverts, but\nwe still want to connect with fellow human beings.\n

And there are contexts for deep connection through play.\nTo mess up with Weber's "Protestant Work Ethic," I'd say that\nThere's such a thing as a "Catholic Play Ethic."\n

But it goes much further than that.\nAs an anthropologist, I'd say that\nPlayfulness is such an important part of culture that\nIt almost defines what we are as a species\n

A major insight about play, from Huizinga, is that\nWhile seriousness may be a lack of playfulness\nIt doesn't follow that play would be a lack of seriousness\n

Playfulness is more than fun and games.\nSome of what we play out is very serious indeed.\nPolitics, death, religion.\nIt'd be easy to be dark about it all.\n

There are times when we just want to fool around\nBut playfulness is more than instant gratification \nIt's not selfish hedonism, Mr. Cheney\n

Oh, sure, I may be\nPlaying with you\nTeasing you\nPulling your leg\nBut it's not about me or about my pleasure, y'know\nIt's about us\n

Performers are responsible for evaluation by audiences\nAs sociologists say, we play out our roles\nLike Sammy Davis Jr., as soon as we're out, we're on, baby, we're on!\n

But there's something about playfulness which is just the opposite of performance\nIt's easier to be playful when we're not being judged\nIn a way, playfulness is preparation for performance\n

But, y'know\nPlayfulness isn't a work in progress\nSome iterative process\nA "release early, release often" kind of thing\nIt's more like a "steady flow of creativity"\n

Obviously, a lot can go awfully wrong when we're being playful.\nThe idea, though, is that we don't let that get us down\nThe show must go on, man!\n

'cuz life, sex, and art aren't spectator sports\nAfter all, They're much more fun to do than to watch\nI sure hope there aren't voyeurs in this room&#x2026;\n

To be really playful, you need to get your hands dirty\nAs we say in French, you don't gain anything if you don't try anything\n

Being playful, we learn to think on our feet\nTo take (civil) liberties with established rules\nTo challenge structures in place\n

In turn, theres something truly liberating about playfulness\n"unleashing creativity" isn't about letting an animal out of us\nIt's about letting us out of our chains\n

I really don't think of life as a game\nSure, there are those who keep scores\nBut we all end up at the same point\nWhether it's through dysentery or old age\n

There's a lot to be gained\nIf we think of life\nOutside the zero-sum game\nBeing playful,\nWe're all gaining more than\neach of us is putting in.\n

The Serious Business of Playfulness

Alexandre Enkerli

The Serious Business of Playfulness