Tedx Bloomington addressed the “wisdom of play”. What opportunities have we missed to explore our environment, celebrate creativity, and think about things differently? Twenty-one visionaries, performers, artists, and experts each spoke for a few minutes on their field or area of interest. The talks were entertaining and demanded listeners to approach a subject in a new way.
22 days later, the ideas of Tedx have had time to expand in my mind. I’ve started noticing people “at play” and questioning my own explorations thanks to a meaningful segment by Gever Tulley. I yearn to go out into the night and create some unauthorized public art piece, for the morning commuter to stumble upon (drawing inspiration from the Wooster Collective). I’ve reevaluated how I treat people with Asperger’s Syndrome and similar afflictions due to a talk by Stephan Volan which received a standing ovation. Lastly, I’ve approached a new level of understanding about my own motivations in regard to game play, because of Edward Castronova.
Castronova’s talk most resonated with me. He spoke about how games offer their players a refuge: imaginative worlds with fresh rules, and a chance for escape. This I had already thought about myself. But Edward also mentioned how games teach us to develop a “game literacy”: the ability to read new contexts, with new opponents, new resources, and new victory parameters. His speech encouraged game play of all kinds as a tool to become a more adaptable and well-rounded person. My thanks to Mr. Castronova for his words. I will continue to play Settlers of Cataan, Pandemic, Power Grid, and Ticket to Ride in order to become a more intelligent and higher functioning human being.
Tags: Bloomington, conference, Gever Tulley, Settlers of Cataan, Tedx, Wisdom of Play, Wooster Collective