Nov 2007 Newsletter: Pangaea ring - Mr. Simon Jones
Why do we play games?In airports across the world, travelers while away hours playing games with playstations, video games, playing cards and Sudoku. In even the most underprivileged countries, people run and chase, make structures from sticks, paint and draw even when life can be extraordinarily hard. In a world where life is becoming even more competitive, or where survival is difficult why do we spend so much of our time idly playing?
Play is different to sports or games. They are all important of
course. But play serves a different role for humans. We play by
ourselves to explore who we are and what we might be. We play in
groups to share our own sense of identity and to have that identity
reflected back to us in the actions and responses of others.
In this sense play is a self-affirming, life-affirming activity.
Its' significance compared to sports or games is that it is
fundamentally cooperative not competitive. That is why play matters
so much to us, the most social of all animals.
The experience of playing with those who are very different to us is not just an exercise in learning about other people. Rather it is a highly effective way of discovering things about ourselves we could otherwise not anticipate. This in my view is why Panagaea matters so much, why its longevity is assured and why it is so important to develop the concept in as many different cultures and countries as possible.
Simon Jones
University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
The experience of playing with those who are very different to us is not just an exercise in learning about other people. Rather it is a highly effective way of discovering things about ourselves we could otherwise not anticipate. This in my view is why Panagaea matters so much, why its longevity is assured and why it is so important to develop the concept in as many different cultures and countries as possible.
Simon Jones
University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Posted by: kumakinoko | 3. Newsletter , 4. Pangaea Ring
