Yeah, there are things that I wish would "click" for me, too. I have come to believe that recreational play can be a process of reinforcing the ability to acqu

Yeah, there are things that I wish would "click" for me, too. I have come to believe that recreational play can be a process of reinforcing the ability to acquire new skills. Or play, like dreaming, can be an unconscious way of sorting out new experiences against the frameworks you already possess. As I wrote this, I was struck by the literal sense of the Engligh word: "re-creation". My best work as a programmer has always come to me as I am walking, or in the shower as I wake up. My worst work has always been sleep-deprived nonsense. While the Brontë sisters' imaginary world may have no intrinsic value, it may well be that the experience of creating such a thing led them to success in other ways.