Just started reading the book Homo Ludens by Dutch historian J. Huizinga published in 1944. It is fun to read something so old that somehow still feels current. The text is compact and sometimes difficult to read which is so different from most of the easy to read management and creativity books I’ve been reading. I feel very intellectual and academic while reading this book…
I will post more as I try to get thru the book. To begin with this is how he defines the characteristics of play as:
- Play is free, is in fact freedom.
- Play is not “ordinary” or “real” life.
- Play is distinct from “ordinary” life both as to locality and duration.
- Play creates order, is order. Play demands order absolute and supreme.
- Play is connected with no material interest, and no profit can be gained from it.