Homo Ludens

Normally when I read a book it is a quick matter - something that takes other people weeks can sometimes take me a day or even sometimes hours. I attribute that to a familiarity with the underlying concepts of a work; if you understand the general direction that an author is coming from and are familiar with the terrain, comprehensive reading is quick.

As I mentioned here, and as you may clearly see on the right side of the page now, I am presently reading 'Homo Ludens' by Johan Huizinga. A recent comment by friend 'jesbacon' - someone I actually know and who knows me - got me thinking about something. He and I worked at the same place for about 6 months, and we drank lots of coffee during office hours (and lime vodka after hours). But we played games.

At the time, I was knee deep in Asheron's Call with some people from other departments. Another guy in our department was playing Everquest (he later got hired to work on it). 'jesbacon' was playing Diablo, as I recall... was it a necromancer? I don't remember that well, I was busy shoveling pizza at lunch and talking about the Asheron's Call guild that I had somehow become a... king of. Tar-un, as I recall.

I got my copy of Homo Ludens yesterday, and have started reading it (thanks to Benjamin Duranske's post). I got up to the Foreword, at which point I had to put it down - something I will probably explain briefly when I add it to the stack of book reviews. But it deserves more than a brief explanation.

Play is an important part of my world, though my definition varies. Maybe it is my personality type (INTJ), maybe it is the way that I grew up - mainly alone - or maybe I'm just not quite right in the head. Likely, it is all of those and more. But 'play' means something very different to me.

Physiology

In some ways, I see it as a physiological aspect of development for the young, which is something Homo Ludens doesn't cover. Fair enough, but when a child is still forming myelium sheaths around its nerves, it wiggles its appendages alot. This makes them look somewhat cute to people, which of course serves the interest of the child - but it also causes spastic movement that exercises muscles and creates muscle mass. It does serve a purpose, if even accidentally so. An active baby is a good sign. As their nerves become insulated, they begin motor control refinement and movement. Movement requires the muscles built up in the prior stage. Welcome to the next level.