“Playing” Benefits Both Children and Adults! – Reading Summary and Introduction

In children, we often notice that “play” takes up most of their time. In fact, it is not only children—animals also frequently engage in “play” behavior. Crows, parrots, dolphins, whales, monkeys, and apes all display a fondness for “play” during their early years. According to research, the experience of “play” these animals have when young may very well enable them to develop better abilities.

One study investigated whether there was a difference between apes that “played” and those that “did not play.” In the experiment, an ape tried to obtain a banana placed outside its cage, but the stick at hand was not long enough. After scientists gave the ape bamboo sticks of different sizes, the ape “played” with the sticks for three days. It later assembled the thin and thick sticks to make a longer tool and successfully obtained the banana outside the cage. (Birch, 1945).

From the examples above, we can roughly recognize the connection between “play” and the learning process. Childhood is precisely the stage when the mind develops rapidly, and “play” may well be the primary way children learn. Many hypotheses attempt to explain the importance of “play” to children’s development from a functional perspective. Bateson and Martin list them as follows:

（1）Coordinating and strengthening relationships between individuals and groups
“Play” can enhance an individual’s ability to cooperate and compete with groups, as well as their ability to live alongside members of the same species, develop social skills, and strengthen community relationships.

（2）Improving physical and mental qualities
“Play” enables people to exercise and fine-tune the body’s neuromuscular system, allowing them to develop complex physical skills and process sensory information with greater subtlety and speed.

（3）Enhancing adaptability
“Play” enables people to increase their knowledge of the environment around them, become more resistant to stress, expand their repertoire of behavioral skills, and better adapt to new environmental conditions.

Bateson and Martin further emphasize the following:

（4）Innovation and breakthrough
“Play” can be regarded as a mechanism that allows people to break apart and recombine new and old concepts into new ideas. These “new” ideas may solve existing problems and help people break through difficulties. In other words, “play” allows people to “strengthen their equipment” in advance, equipping them with the ability to solve the various challenges they may face in the future.

In addition, Bateson and Martin specifically point out that beyond “play,” there is also playfulness—“having fun.” The functions described above can only be realized when people can gain enjoyment from “play.” Looking back through history, humanity has had no shortage of highly creative people who also possessed a playful spirit. For example, the works of the famous Mozart and Picasso are often mischievous and full of playfulness, while the scientist Richard Feynman was also well known for his humor and love of play.

We know from children that “play” brings many positive results, but what about adults?

Humans learn through personal experience and even from other people. From any perspective, this ability is remarkable. When it appears in different individuals, the differences it produces often stem from experiences that occurred during each person’s earlier life. Therefore, it is unlikely that childhood “play” has no effect whatsoever on adult behavior. Bateson and Martin argue that childhood “play” and “playfulness” are potentially important to the creativity adults possess.

In fact, “creativity” can be enhanced, with the effects being particularly significant in the short term. Within a group, encouraging “play”—whether through simple brain teasers, collaborative storytelling, or other group games—can help the group become more creative and more capable of innovation.

Although animal behavior studies have shown that “play” does indeed greatly benefit animals’ survival and reproduction, the pressures of survival and reproduction in contemporary human society are, of course, much lower than those faced by animals in the wild. Nevertheless, “creativity” and the “ability to innovate” have been extremely important both in the past and today. Consider our human ancestors: without sufficient abilities to adapt and survive, humanity would not have continued to reproduce to this day. In modern society, for industries and companies that rely on creativity and innovation, whether they encourage employees to maintain curiosity and playfulness, thereby fostering creativity, is crucial to their development.

In summary, as long as we are willing to “play” and maintain curiosity and a playful spirit in everyday life, it will have a positive effect on both children and adults, improving their learning abilities and creativity!
 

• Book title: Play, Playfulness, Creativity and Innovation

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

• Publication year: 2013

• Authors: Patrick Bateson (ethologist, University of Cambridge professor), Paul Martin (behavioral biologist)

• Summary transcription: Cho Chia-an