The Illusion of Play

Pod Paper Scissors by Ben Klemens

Jun 28, 202024:48Science & Medicine

What do we mean by "play" anyway? Historian Johan Huizinga wrote all about this in the 1930s. Let's take a look at his theory of play and how we can apply it to everyday situations. We end with a new original song by Liz...

Related Episodes

Continue listening to more episodes from Pod Paper Scissors.

The Centipede Made Me Do It

Sep 2, 2021 - 18:46

When your interaction with another person has an end date, like moving out of a shared apartment, do you...

Who does the dishes?

Jul 12, 2021 - 20:17

The real world is full of "repeated prisoners' dilemmas" in which we face the same situations over and ov...

Home Buyin' Blues

Jun 2, 2021 - 14:59

Buying a house isn't as straightforward as offering a price. Contracts are malleable and buyer and seller...

The Bidding Bug

May 8, 2021 - 16:21

We discuss a different kind of auction: the second price auction. It resolves many of the problems of the...

Pants on Sale

Apr 9, 2021 - 14:51

Sometimes winners feel like losers. In this episode we talk about auctions, including the concept of the...

I Want What You Want

Mar 20, 2021 - 17:03

Why does money have value? Why did every child want a Furby for one holiday season? On this episode, we e...

A Ticket to the Eiffel Tower

Feb 10, 2021 - 18:01

Journalist and author Elizabeth Becker is our guest as we contemplate how to use game theory to think abo...

It's Getting Crowded

Jan 31, 2021 - 15:29

In the Before Times (and in the Future Times), there were a lot of different kinds of travel experiences...