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Natalie Angier writes in the NYT about why jokes affect us so much but are hard to remember. She says it has to do with the fact that easy-to-remember things like jingles reinforce patterns already in the brain, whereas jokes are powerful because they break or subvert patterns, which makes it harder for the brain to slot the joke into memory.
Posted by Chris
Most of us past the age of 30 grew up in a world that we mostly explored at will. We were asked (told!) to “go outside and play” with only the requirement that we be back before dark or back before dinner. We explored nearby fields and streams, built things, and learned about our own skill and proclivities. Kids now have much more structured lives, the result being that they miss chances to construct the narrative of their own lives.
Lenore Skenazy, a columnist who once unwittingly unleashed a scandal by letting her 9-year-old son ride on the New York Subway alone, talks about all this in the posted introduction to her book: “Free Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry.”
Yesterday Stuart sat down with John Hockenberry to discuss “America’s #1 Prescription: Play” on the NPR program, The Takeaway.
Read about it and find the link to listen here.
Here is a great story about how doodling–a seemingly pointless, enjoyable activity (the essence of play)–actually makes the brain function better.
A Presidential Doodle
Here is a little edu-film about how a book like Play goes from manuscript to bookstore. If you know anything about book publishing, you will find this take amusing. This little film from the folks at McMillan is a nice example of using play and humor to deal with the little difficulties and frustrations of publishing, work that most do because they love books.
This is a good video of a dog and cat playing, and a great illustration of handicapping: the dog is much bigger and stronger than the cat, but lies down to bring himself down to the cat’s size. Neither animals uses their full strength.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULVQ1P6ln_4
Great roundup and introduction to play on this Nature’s Edge ABC news segment.
Play. Yes You Must.
Change is the mantra of the age of Obama. But what essential aspects of human nature best prepare us for change and for the unexpected? The world is now particularly fragile economically and braced for major stress and transformation.
A new Science of Play is emerging that, I believe, provides an effective foundation that, if fully embraced, will facilitate healthy changes required for major societal change without catastrophe.
A close look at the evolution of play behavior, an instinctive force that becomes more complex the smarter and more social the creature, reveals important long-term survival data, based on our biological design.
Read the rest of this entry »
After many years of effort, the book is now for sale in bookstores everywhere. In this blog, we look forward to celebrating and understanding play in all its forms, as well keeping you up-to-date about events associated with the book.