Thank you greatly, Travis..

I think our approaches complement each other, and that both a historical account and the method of playful exploration treat Science well - while the teaching methods that favor memorization of facts over concepts tends to leave graduates unprepared for the actual rigors of a scientific laboratory. The trend is to encourage students to incorporate a Business curriculum into their Science studies, and I think this is misguided or wrong-headed too - being based in a fundamental misconception of the nature of Science.

Science does not yield to to the paradigm of predictability and control that is the rule in the Business world, especially in the area of Research and Development. The reason for doing an experiment is often that you can't know the results until you do the experiment. So being expected to plot out what your results will be, and then issue a timetable for when you will be able to produce those results is either counter-productive, or in some cases rules out the possibility for breakthrough advances - through the requirement of having to adhere to protocol.

More later,

Jonathan

Wonderful to hear your words of praise Vladimir!

I am very happy my message resonates with you, and fits well with the message of your own offering. This topic and forum provide a unique opportunity for us to show how to make the world a better place, which it appears you are earnestly trying to do.

I am certain to enjoy your essay, once I get to it, from the sound of things. It does appear you have been ambitious this time out, but the essay question invites that we bring all of our wisdom to the table to aid our planet's future. Best of luck to you!

Warm Regards,

Jonathan

Very interesting perspective and a good read, Jonathan. Thanks for your contribution. I hope others respond similarly, and that your ideas receive wide attention beyond this forum. This concept of play can be applied in many spheres of education, too. The arts certainly spring to mind, and even things like history -- or grammar. In middle school, way back in the 60s, we were required to diagram sentences. I don't even know if they do that anymore. The teacher certainly didn't make it anything like play, and most of my classmates hated it but I considered it like a puzzle or game. I learned something about language from it, too. We need to see more of this approach, for sure -- both in school and beyond. So much of our learning as children and adults comes from entertainment, also a form of play.

    Thank you gracious Sir,

    Like compassion, play is an overlooked essential that gets a short measure in today's world. Modern society has become preoccupied with competitive ideals, when what is needed more than anything else is a cooperative paradigm of increasing strength through sharing rather than showing strength through competition. There is a place for honing one's competitive skills, but there is also a benefit to cooperation that goes out the window when ideals like playfulness and compassion are seen to have no value.

    Different people are keyed in to different learning modalities, most certainly, so that what works great with one person may fail to capture the imagination of another. But when solving a problem requires interaction and cooperation, this can bring faculties of mind to bear that don't emerge otherwise. So exercises like the one described by Alfie Kohn become learning tools of the highest nature, because the rest is already hard-wired into the brain. But overall; participatory learning has advantages that go far beyond simple retention of information - and extend into the realm of understanding.

    All the Best,

    Jonathan

    Dear Jonathan,

    Thank you for pointing me to a discussion thread you initiated and to a paper on Unique Einstein Gravity ... by Kauffmann. The paper is based on tensors, was therefore difficult to read, and exhibits much less revisionism than I was hoping for.

    By the way, you are not the first one who claimed that we need more freedom for unrestricted scientific play. I recall the same arguments by mathematicians who were unhappy with steering of anything under the aspect of immediate economic results by the authorities of (communist) party and a financially bankrupt government about thirty years ago. Sabine Hossenfelder is also complaining about lacking funding.

    How do you comment on Alan Schlafly's new essay? I don't understand why didn't he dare to utter that authorities like Earl Bertrand Russell were notoriously wrong.

    Best,

    Eckard

      Sugata Mitra: Build a School in the Cloud

      Found this wonderful TED talk, which I think clearly illustrates the learning ability of children when they 'play' unsupervised with computer technology. I am quite astonished by Sugata Mitra's results but these are children motivating themselves and learning from each other; not being made to memorize facts or work at tasks they find uninteresting. Its verification that 'fun' works; not silliness, comedy or incessant hyperactive external enthusiasm, as seen on many children's TV shows, but self initiated joy of learning for its own sake. His vision of a school in the cloud seems in harmony with your own vision of the future, set out in your essay.

      Dear Jonathan,

      Many religions demand that children have to exactly memorize holy texts and songs. Yesterday I heard that rich enough Chinese parents who are known for focusing on the future of their typically single child do increasingly intend getting this child educated differently from typical Asian strategy of memorizing as many facts and skills as possible; they are paying if I recall correctly 20 Dollars per hour for providing their cherished child the option to learn playing in groups for instance with LEGO toys as to foster their competitive creativity. Their aim is of course making their children leading in China and China the leading nation. In so far, I do not yet see it a sufficient answer to the question how should HUMANITY steer.

      Nonetheless, I appreciate essays that don't just utter utopian dreams or reiterate more or less religious doctrines if they don't even evade the topic. Teijinder Sing at least admitted that the unlimited birth rate collides with the limited resources. What do you mean?

      Regards,

      Eckard

        Would you be surprised to learn Steven was a student of Feynman?..

        After being in touch with S.K. Kauffmann for several years, I recently found out or was reminded that he was one of Richard Feynman's grad students, back in his early days at Cal Tech. So it is easier to understand how the man is a constant innovator, always trying to find better ways of understanding things himself. But the other half of your comment is apt. I will offer that there were some harsh comments by Christian Corda, involving a lack of understanding about the equivalence principle - that proved to be largely correct or helpful.

        But at this point; I think Kauffmann is trying to toe the line between being sufficiently revisionistic to have a point to make, and giving sufficient attention to the conventional view - so that he'll have a document that is publishable or is believable as serious Physics to the GR crowd.

        All the best,

        Jonathan

        I greatly appreciate the kind remarks, Leo KoGuan.

        I am very happy that you find my message agreeable, and that my telling of the story resonates with you. It is important that we do give our researchers enough freedom to play and explore the possibilities, if we hope to have great discoveries, and it is important that students of all ages can approach learning playfully.

        Like yourself, and like Pete and Toshi Seeger for that matter; I think higher education should be available to all those who have the mind and mindset to consider the deeper questions about the universe and how nature works. Unfortunately; not all do get the opportunity to learn the scientific basics. I think certain topics in Science are essential knowledge, but sadly learning or teaching how nature works is often neglected - so that more time can be spent memorizing facts or later training the specific skills of a given job category. But people need to learn how to think, for what they know to be of value.

        Thank you again for your thoughtful regard of my essay. Hopefully, with this contest, more people will learn of the value of play.

        All the Best,

        Jonathan

        Thank you Eckard, for asking about the relevance.

        What I mean by play in my essay is this. There is an essential amount of freedom that must be accorded the individual for them to be effective at carrying out any task, but the freedom to learn by open-ended exploration has been eroded in modern society. Unless the people in a position of power come to learn the value of play for learning in general, the human race is likely doomed - because the alternative is a kind of enforced stupidity, whose backlash is the sad stories of Chinese parents who are desperate to save their child from the system.

        I don't think all play is created equal. In some ways, the play of a child is most like the activity of a scientist at work, but any type of research is greatly enhanced by the presence of mature adults who understand the win/win philosophy and the point of adult games that require cooperation as well as competition. However; the focus of our society, and especially of our leaders in politics and business, seems to be at the level of competitive adolescent games - which humanity must outgrow to survive.

        So my opinion is that as a race, humanity must outgrow the adolescent phase of unending competition, and adopt forms of play that allow for innovation that contributes to humanity's sustainability and growth.

        Warm regards,

        Jonathan

        4 days later

        Hi Jonathan,

        I like very much how describe the role of play, for children and adults, for scientists, for the evolution of mankind. I very much agree with

        "The challenge, then, is to inspire more people to seek higher education, to make Math and Science more fun to learn, and thus to elevate the general intelligence of the populace, in the core STEM subjects. To do this; we must acknowledge that these are playful pursuits by nature, and make it OK for scholars in these fields to play. Play is far more universal, being the root source of all learning, and indeed of all consciousness and cognitive intelligence, but it finds expression in these subjects. While Math and Science are full of hard topics to learn; they are, at their heart, fun! But this is only one reason I say that Science is play."

        Best regards,

        Cristi

          Hi Jonathan,

          we have no alert service for replies, so I returned here just because you have recently written in my forum page (find an answer there too). Thanks.

          Your mentioning that music keeps us alive (which I fully subscribe) has reminded me of the closing sentences of the novel 'Il Baol' by the italian novelist Stefano Benni (not translated in English, I am afraid, so I translate it for you):

          I am here, listening to the pianist. I am sitting at the last table at the bottom, on the left. [ ] If you can`t sleep, or if you are sleeping, come. [ ] I will be here as long as the pianist plays. And as long as I am here, he will play.

          Thanks very much Cristi,

          I am happy you enjoyed the essay, and I appreciate that you were able to find a chunk of it that sums up the overall topic matter so well. I only wish the people who influence funding for Science Research and Education had a little more of the perspective I enjoy or offer. For folks like yourself, who are actually exploring the frontiers, it already makes sense that play is essential.

          All the Best,

          Jonathan

          Jonathen,

          Big improvement on last year, doing the subject full justice. An ancient Aunt used to use the phrase "find a job you enjoy and you'll never do a days work in your life". I've always remembered that, and she was right. You well identify the blurred boundaries.

          But I found limits; As a race yacht helmsman I got to the top, but when then offered a job editing a yachting magazine, ..I drew a line. That may be a chore, and I was well paid already doing a job I enjoyed. As you point out, for professional sportsmen play becomes work.

          What's most important in my view is improving intellectual education, in which area 'play' in all its senses can play a critical role and is undervalued. The thought processes of scientists are evolved at school, where we really don't teach how to think. (clearly!) The important difference between childish and childlike behaviour needs more discerning.

          I'd hoped you may have had a go with my colourful A4 'experimental' kit for producing so called quantum correlations classically. Only a few did, and repeated the result. I've been thinking about making it a board game, but better as a teaching aid. (Of course heretical as things stand).

          Very well done for yours this year. I really couldn't find anything to take issue with! I look forward to your comments on mine if you can find the time.

          Very best wishes

          Peter

            Thanks Peter,

            I'm lucky in my vocation. My work is often rewarding and sometimes almost like play, but I also get to work with folks that get paid to play. Last week Monday; I recorded a drummer who has played on over 2000 albums - Terry Hampton, son of Lionel. So both of us got paid to do something we love, but neither of us made a lot of money - so we had better love what we are doing!

            Now, if only people like you or I could only be paid to do independent research in Physics. Or if only there were more opportunities for people in general to explore the sciences in first-hand participation. I think a lot of folks thought they could pursue independent research after retiring from academia or industry, but found themselves shut out. So the problem Phil talks about can leave them bereft of opportunities to publish.

            I will look at your paper soon.

            More later,

            Jonathan

            Hi Jonathan,

            We are companion travelers in this world, at least in the cyberspace. Happy to meet you here and thanks for your kind remark.

            You wrote below that I completely in agreement: "The possibility for such a future remains open, but there is a danger we will undermine our capacity to engineer this outcome, unless certain trends are reversed. Science can help us create a positive future for humanity, but we must be willing to apply what we have learned more broadly, and to exalt the search for knowledge and the process of learning over the information learned and the specific insights gained. To do this; we must recognize the value of play." We do need to reverse our learning and working practices, from works to plays.

            If you read my essay Chinese Dream is Xuan Yuan's Da Tong, I designed in the Scientific Outlook Free-Lunch Economic System that all works and learnings must be plays. Life is a Shakespearian play in the world's stage. Not just a "few get paid to play" but all free from slavery that all have nothing else to do but play all days long even in sleeping.

            As you powerfully stated that "Play is far more universal, being the root source of all learning, and indeed of all consciousness and cognitive intelligence, but it finds expression in these subjects."

            Yes for "from each to each according to his/her dreams and aspirations."

            Jon, congratulation on your another master piece and I rated it a ten (10).

            Best wishes,

            Leo KoGuan