I picked this book out at the library as part of my blind research floundering process. I was hoping it would be a book about how people interact with games. And it was, sort of, but not in the way that I was hoping. As I realized that the book was not going to be particularly helpful towards my research endeavors, I moved from deep reading to more of a skim, so there are a lot of specifics of the book that I didn’t delve into, so my report suffers related shallowness. But I think there are useful concepts in what I did read, and I can see it altering how I interact with the world in the future as I apply some of what I gleaned.
At its core, the book is focused on the idea of True Fun, a concept that the author Catherine Price coins for a moment where Playfulness, Flow, and Connection intersect and make a truly enjoyable moment. This level of Fun is the best medicine, laughter is simply an indicator of reaching that level. Her method of discovery is not only through contemplation and the sharing of many anecdotes in her life as she identifies and cultivates this level of Fun, but Price also established a network of people from many walks of life who also tried to identify and cultivate these moments. She then sifted through all of the responses and developed recommendations for how the reader can cultivate these moments. With the acronym of SPARK, she describes how making Space, pursuing Passion, Attracting fun, Rebelling, and Keeping at it can help make the moments come more and more.
I was taken out of the book by the large number of pages dedicated to explaining why smartphones are evil. I understand the viewpoint, and I can agree, intellectually, with the conclusions drawn from it, but it’s not a philosophy that I feel ready to embrace. It’s probably truer than I want to admit, and even my skimming over the topic has made me think about my interactions with my phone in a new light. The author also has a book entitled “How to break up with your smartphone.” Maybe I’ll read it some day, when I feel that I want to take a step closer to that ideal. But I also wonder how much of these pages came from an obligation of Price to reinforce her previous book? It’s probably minimal and my kneejerk reaction is more of a defense of my smartphone addicted behavior. Food for thought.
As I contemplate the idea of True Fun, I think of an experience I had when I was living in North Dakota, where I had set up a weekly movie night. The first few sessions of it was a blast. I could feel the connection with my guests, and it was awesome. But as the weeks went on, it became less playful, less of a connection, and more and more effort to set up. I straddle the line of introvert and extrovert, and I thought it was my introverted side acting up, but now, I wonder if I had the terminology from this book if I would have identified the feelings of true fun turning into obligation as the core change of my relationship with it.
A lot of the philosophy I learn helps me look at my art group and its peculiarities in a new light. The moments where the group seemed to be inspired, the members were talking to each other, building off of what the others were saying and doing. Nothing was being treated as part of big overarching story lines or character growth, people were creating things for the current moment. And it seemed easy for them to make more and more content for the spontaneous unofficial event that had arisen out of nothing. Connection. Playfulness. Flow. The three elements that Price identified were essential elements for our best moments. I have no idea how to go about actually making a group event that makes that happen, but now I have words for what I’m trying for, and that is a step in the right direction.
I see a lot of good coming from having read this book, and I’m sure reflections on the concept will keep echoing. I can certainly see myself reaching for it a second time, at some point in the future. Even the chapters on smartphones were useful to me. I learned the term “Time Confetti”, which is all the moments that we lose when we interrupt our activities by checking notifications and other distractions. When we lose our time in seconds and minutes, it’s easy to reach the end of the day and confusedly wonder where it went, as opposed to a large identifiable single event. As someone who does indeed wonder how a previous version of me was able to get so much done, it is a useful concept. Hopefully, this small incidental knowledge of the term can help me unshred my time.
I recommend reading “The Power of Fun.” I was introduced to some topics I had not looked at closely, I learned terminology that helps me contextualize the world, and gives me some ideas of what to do about it. Even without the specific improvements, or details on what I was originally hoping the book was, that makes it a successful philosophy book in my eyes.