Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the SoulRead Stuart Brown's posts on the Penguin Blog. From a leading expert, a groundbreaking book on the science of play, and its essential role in fueling our intelligence and happiness throughout our lives. We've all seen the happiness in the face of a child while playing in the school yard. Or the blissful abandon of a golden retriever racing with glee across a lawn. This is the joy of play. By definition, play is purposeless and all- consuming. And, most important, it's fun. As we become adults, taking time to play feels like a guilty pleasure—a distraction from “real” work and life. But as Dr. Stuart Brown illustrates, play is anything but trivial. It is a biological drive as integral to our health as sleep or nutrition. In fact, our ability to play throughout life is the single most important factor in determining our success and happiness. Dr. Brown has spent his career studying animal behavior and conducting more than six thousand “play histories” of humans from all walks of life— from serial murderers to Nobel Prize winners. Backed by the latest research, Play explains why play is essential to our social skills, adaptability, intelligence, creativity, ability to problem solve, and more. Play is hardwired into our brains—it is the mechanism by which we become resilient, smart, and adaptable people. Beyond play's role in our personal fulfillment, its benefits have profound implications for child development and the way we parent, education and social policy, business innovation, productivity, and even the future of our society. From new research suggesting the direct role of three-dimensional-object play in shaping our brains to animal studies showing the startling effects of the lack of play, Brown provides a sweeping look at the latest breakthroughs in our understanding of the importance of this behavior. A fascinating blend of cutting-edge neuroscience, biology, psychology, social science, and inspiring human stories of the transformative power of play, this book proves why play just might be the most important work we can ever do. |
Contents
Chapter One the promise of play | 3 |
Chapter Two what is play and why do we do | 15 |
Chapter Three we are built for play | 47 |
Chapter Four parenthood is childs play | 77 |
Chapter Five the opposite of play is not work | 123 |
Chapter Six playing together | 157 |
Chapter Seven does play have a dark side? | 175 |
Chapter Eight a world at play | 195 |
Acknowledgments | 219 |
Other editions - View all
Play: how it shapes the brain, opens the imagination, and invigorates the soul Stuart Brown,Christopher Vaughan No preview available - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
addiction ADHD adult adulthood allow animal play baby bear become began brain development Brian Sutton-Smith child childhood coaches hockey Coolidge effect create creative culture emotional emotionally engage engineers enjoy experience explore feel friends genes Gillian Lynne going golden retriever grow hand healthy human ideas imaginative play important innovation interaction Jane Goodall joking juvenile kids laughing lives look ment Nate Jones nature Neoteny neural neurons opioids parents Patch Adams physical play activities play behavior play drive play histories play personality play signals players playful pleasure problem rats realized relationship remember ride Roger Guillemin romantic love rough-and-tumble play sea squirt self-handicap sense sleep social someone sort story Storytelling survival talk teachers teasing things tion told toys true play understand video games