What if our capacity for play is not just a quirk of evolution but a fundamental way we grasp reality? Much like sight reveals color and hearing reveals sound, could play be a sense that unveils essential dimensions of existence otherwise hidden from us?
Captain Frodo challenges us to reconsider the nature and value of play beyond its utilitarian functions. While science often explains play through its evolutionary benefits—practice for hunting, social bonding, developing cognitive flexibility—these explanations miss something crucial: the joy of play itself. When we watch a crow repeatedly sliding down a snowy roof on a plastic lid, flying back up only to slide down again, we witness something more than adaptive behavior. We glimpse a consciousness experiencing pleasure in the moment.
The episode draws heavily from Johan Huizinga's groundbreaking work "Homo Ludens," exploring how play predates human culture and may well be the foundation from which our entire civilization emerged. Law, war, philosophy, art, religion—all these domains of human achievement might have their roots in playful behavior. If so, dismissing play as unimportant or merely instrumental severely limits our understanding of what makes us human.
This perspective reframes our relationship with reality itself. The playful approach to the world isn't an escape from what's real but an engagement with a different facet of it. When we play, we're not just entertaining ourselves—we're accessing a dimension of reality that our purely logical or utilitarian approaches cannot reach. This has profound implications for how we teach, learn, and solve problems.
As this episode marks the conclusion of an extended exploration of play, Captain Frodo invites us to recognize ourselves—especially artists, performers, and "misfits"—as the embodiments of homo ludens, the playful human. In our play, we're not just having fun; we're revealing essential truths about reality itself.

Support the show

...
Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way.
You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.au
If you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify.
If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on [email protected]
or find out more on the Way of the Showman website.
you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman.
If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo