As a kid who wasn\u2019t allowed to watch television, the focus of my childhood was play. The games are too many to count. There was, for example, a little girl who lived in mirrorland and would possess me if I accidentally touched that shiny, reflective surface at night. She scared the heck out of my little sisters. Today, they say they knew all along it was a game, but I like to believe I had them fooled.<\/p>\n
For better or worse, play changes when you\u2019re an adult. I rarely engage in open-ended, exploratory, pretend-play. I can\u2019t remember the last time I had a truly epic, long-lasting daydream. Even more regimented play, like board games, has become the exception instead of the rule.<\/p>\n
Though it would be unrealistic to maintain play as a focus in adulthood, research increasingly points to the benefits of a playful spirit. Mirrorland may just get an encore.<\/p>\n
Mozart enjoyed pranks, Einstein\u2019s most famous photograph includes his arched tongue, and the men who discovered DNA explain their process as playing with molecular models. Struck by the number of exceptionally creative thinkers who were also unusually playful, Dr. Patrick Bateson took to science to determine whether the linkage was more than coincidence.<\/p>\n