ARTICLE

FindCenter AddIcon

The World-Changing Power of Wonder, Delight, and Play

By Steven Johnson — 2016

Sometime in the last decades of the 1700s, a Swiss inventor and showman with the delightful name John-Joseph Merlin opened an establishment in London called Merlin’s Mechanical Museum. In modern terms, Merlin’s shop was a kind of hybrid between a science museum, a gaming arcade, and a maker lab.

Read on medium.com

FindCenter Post-Image

Focus

SARK’s whimsical, hand-printed, hand-painted books . . . are guides for adults (kids, too) who long to play and be creative, but have forgotten how.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

A Place to Play, on Wheels or Feet

At other parks, she said: “I feel alone because nobody wants to play with me. They think I’m weird. When I come here, everybody wants to play with me.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

May 20, 1990: Advice on Life and Creative Integrity from Calvin and Hobbes Creator Bill Watterson

On May 20, 1990, Bill Watterson, creator of the beloved Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, took the podium at Kenyon College — the same stage David Foster Wallace would occupy 15 years later to deliver his memorable commencement address — and gave the graduating class a gift of equally remarkable insight...

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Be a Sport

“The sacredness of a sporting event is that individuals rise beyond their limitations, achieving a state of abandon that is usually known only at the peak of spirituality.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Diane Ackerman on the Evolutionary and Existential Purpose of Deep Play

“In rare moments of deep play, we can lay aside our sense of self, shed time’s continuum, ignore pain, and sit quietly in the absolute present, watching the world’s ordinary miracles.”

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

In Defense of Play

The “elaborate detour” of having fun pays cognitive dividends.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

New Research Finds Playfulness Is a Skill Anyone Can Learn

The improvement in personal well-being might be worth effort.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Why More Play Is the Key to Creativity and Productivity

Adult recess and other apparently ridiculous activities may be one of the best ways to feel, work, and be better.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Why Play Is Important to Us All

Life is a serious business. But new research shows that the way to get the most out of it is to be more playful. So get out there and have some fun

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Play Out, Don’t Work Out

Play your way to a happy, healthy, and long life.

FindCenter AddIcon

EXPLORE TOPIC

Play