Yes, but the article argued exactly that it pays off, i.e. has utility for survival so high it exceeds the cost. If it was not useful for survival, play (as de

Yes, but the article argued exactly that it pays off, i.e. has utility for survival so high it exceeds the cost. If it was not useful for survival, play (as defined in the article) could be thought of as the pinnacle of existence, useless on its own with everything else building up to it; but it is not that, it is argued to be merely a means. With comment presenting the opposite viewpoint to TFA, either I was missing its point, or it reacted purely to the keyword “play” in the title and not the substance, or it was begging for someone to reply and ask for elaboration (which I did).