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I think you're cutting to the heart of why fun is even a thing. We do fun things, and find them fun, because they help us mentally prepare for critical real-wor

I think you're cutting to the heart of why fun is even a thing. We do fun things, and find them fun, because they help us mentally prepare for critical real-world scenarios. We don't know this going in, but it feels good and we reap the benefits. Just like adults find sex pleasurable so they have the urge to do it and reproduce, children and adults find play pleasurable so they have the urge to do it and build up our brains. Like, armed conflict isn't fun unless you're a psychopath (in which case militaries are probably very interested in recruiting you). But a de-risked simulation of armed conflict -- anything from chess to sportsball to a modern FPS -- is an almost archetypal fun activity. This is something to keep in mind when considering the ruinous effects of the removal of recess and free play from American schools.

micromacrofoot 4y ago
This is a reasonable and somewhat popular theory but evidence to support it is harder to find than you might imagine. People have spent their entire lives studying animal behavior and still don't have much more than a shrug to show for evidence supporting play as a survival or evolutionary mechanism. Some play does look like hunting (cat and dog owners will notice this), but there's a good amount that also doesn't align with anything else an animal regularly does.