New research finds playfulness is a skill anyone can learn
The improvement in personal well-being might be worth effort.
31 August, 2020
Credit: Shutterstock
- Researchers in Germany discovered that even serious adults can become playful with training.
- Developing a playful attitude leads to better overall well-being.
- Play is a deeply embedded ancestral brain system, according to neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp.
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<p>The heaviness of this moment is impossible to overstate. Anxiety and depression are <a href="https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-08-25/feeling-anxious-and-depressed-in-california-youre-right-at-home" target="_blank">rising</a> due to COVID-19. A <a href="https://time.com/5876606/economic-depression-coronavirus/" target="_blank">severe economic downturn</a> is having a toll on many Americans. Interventions like meditation, cognitive reframing, and exercise are important, but for growing numbers of people, not enough.</p><p>There isn't one method that can lift you out of depression and curb feelings of uncertainty. A multivariate approach is needed. One of the seemingly simple yet effective methods shown to lift moods is playfulness. As a <a href="https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/aphw.12220" target="_blank">new study</a> from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg shows, playfulness can be trained. </p><p>Play is deeply embedded in many species. Young animals play in order to set boundaries and explore social conditions. This social skill causes young children to wrestle and roll down hills. The late neuroscientist Jaak Panskepp believed play to be an ancestral system in our brains. He <a href="https://brainworldmagazine.com/the-importance-of-play-an-interview-with-dr-jaak-panksepp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">says</a> this instinct is necessary in children even if adults are confounded by it. </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"There is no ambiguity among young children; they instinctively know what play is. Academics get confused, parents get confused — calling what their children are doing 'naughty,' 'aggressive,' 'being bad' — but kids are having fun, so we know that there is that one play system in the brain."</p>
The Primal Power of Play
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fafc9008ca88bf9da3d71010070d23da"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3KanfLqKXYg?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Many adults lose their sense of play as they age, though some retain it. Previous research has shown playful adults appear to experience better moods. The team in Germany wanted to know if playfulness can be taught, even in serious adults.</p><p>The naturally playful seem to experience an emotional boon. Lead author of the study, Professor René Proyer, <a href="https://pressemitteilungen.pr.uni-halle.de/index.php?modus=pmanzeige&pm_id=5088" target="_blank">says</a>,</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Particularly playful people have a hard time dealing with boredom. They manage to turn almost any everyday situation into an entertaining or personally engaging experience."</p><p>Proyer's team divided 533 volunteers into three groups. One group was tasked to write down three playful situations they experienced during the course of their day for seven nights; another group was asked to reflect broadly on any playful moments throughout the day; the control group was given an assignment irrelevant to the study.</p><p>Every volunteer filled out a questionnaire before the study began. They then responded to questionnaires four times after the intervention, the last being 12 weeks after the study's conclusion. Researcher Kay Brauer, part of Proyer's group, believed people could train themselves to be more playful. </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Our assumption was that the exercises would lead people to consciously focus their attention on playfulness and use it more often. This could result in positive emotions, which in turn would affect the person's well-being." </p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU5NzM4My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMjAxNDY2N30.qjWzSZn9H1SCGjPbXDj7X5gHlOpfR5VSmj15nv7_6Ks/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C112%2C0%2C95&height=700" id="b4f2c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5b8f6cf53096dbc35ddcdc7b6c5ac88e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="man and girl on small scooter" />
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<p>The team was right. The group tasked with writing down playful experiences experienced an increase in well-being. Proyer feels this could be used at work and in romantic relationships, as well as in life in general. Being an intuitive, ancestral component of the human experience, any opportunity to play should be taken seriously as part of a holistic program for mental health.</p><p>While Panksepp focused his career on play in children, he admitted adults can also play. He was concerned that play-reducing medications like Ritalin stunts this ancestral need. As he says, </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"We have to develop a society that understands play, and the many good things it does for children's brains and minds. We developed the concept of having 'play sanctuaries,' where children have safe environment to play and develop their own games. We have much to learn about how good play is for the brains of our children."</p><p>As this new research shows, play is healthy at any age. Perhaps we all need to create a play sanctuary. While it won't solve the world's problems, it could help the days pass with a little more levity. </p><p>--</p><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://derekberes.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Substack</a>. His next book is</em> "<em>Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy."</em></p>
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Can a quantum strategy help bring down the house?
Study finds quantum entanglement could, in principle, give a slight advantage in the game of blackjack.
04 August, 2020
Photo by Sheri Hooley on Unsplash
In some versions of the game blackjack, one way to win against the house is for players at the table to work as a team to keep track of and covertly communicate amongst each other the cards they have been dealt.
<p> With that knowledge, they can then estimate the cards still in the deck, and those most likely to be dealt out next, all to help each player decide how to place their bets, and as a team, gain an advantage over the dealer.</p><p>This calculating strategy, known as card-counting, was made famous by the MIT Blackjack Team, a group of students from MIT, Harvard University, and Caltech, who for several decades starting in 1979, optimized card-counting and other techniques to successfully beat casinos at blackjack around the world — a story that later inspired the book "Bringing Down the House."</p><p>Now researchers at MIT and Caltech have shown that the weird, quantum effects of entanglement could theoretically give blackjack players even more of an edge, albeit a small one, when playing against the house.</p><p>In a paper published this week in the journal <em>Physical Review A</em>, the researchers lay out a theoretical scenario in which two players, playing cooperatively against the dealer, can better coordinate their strategies using a quantumly entangled pair of systems. Such systems exist now in the laboratory, although not in forms convenient for any practical use in casinos. In their study, the authors nevertheless explore the theoretical possibilities for how a quantum system might influence outcomes in blackjack.</p><p>They found that such quantum communication would give the players a slight advantage compared to classical card-counting strategies, though in limited situations where the number of cards left in the dealer's deck is low.</p><p>"It's pretty small in terms of the actual magnitude of the expected quantum advantage," says first author Joseph Lin, a former graduate student at MIT. "But if you imagine the players are extremely rich, and the deck is really low in number, so that every card counts, these small advantages can be big. The exciting result is that there's some advantage to quantum communication, regardless of how small it is."</p><p>Lin's MIT co-authors on the paper are professor of physics Joseph Formaggio, associate professor of physics Aram Harrow, and Anand Natarajan of Caltech, who will start at MIT in September as assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science.</p>
<h3>Quantum dealings</h3><p>Entanglement is a phenomenon described by the rules of quantum mechanics, which states that two physically separate objects can be "entangled," or correlated with each other, in such a way that the correlations between them are stronger than what would be predicted by the classical laws of physics and probability.</p><p>In 1964, physicist John Bell proved mathematically that quantum entanglement could exist, and also devised a test — known a Bell test — that scientists have since applied to many scenarios to ascertain if certain spatially remote particles or systems behave according to classical, real-world physics, or whether they may exhibit some quantum, entangled states.</p><p>"One motivation for this work was as a concrete realization of the Bell test," says Harrow of the team's new paper. "People wrote the rules of blackjack not thinking of entanglement. But the players are dealt cards, and there are some correlations between the cards they get. So does entanglement work here? The answer to the question was not obvious going into it."</p><p>After casually entertaining the idea during a regular poker night with friends, Formaggio decided to explore the possibility of quantum blackjack more formally with his MIT colleagues.</p><p>"I was grateful to them for not laughing and closing the door on me when I brought up the idea," Formaggio recalls.</p>
<h3>Correlated cards</h3><p>In blackjack, the dealer deals herself and each player a face-up card that is public to all, and a face-down card. With this information, each player decides whether to "hit," and be dealt another card, or "stand," and stay with the cards they have. The goal after one round is to have a hand with a total that is closer to 21, without going over, than the dealer and the other players at the table.</p><p>In their paper, the researchers simulated a simple blackjack setup involving two players, Alice and Bob, playing cooperatively against the dealer. They programmed Alice to consistently bet low, with the main objective of helping Bob, who could hit or stand based on any information he gained from Alice.</p><p>The researchers considered how three different scenarios might help the players win over the dealer: a classical card-counting scenario without communication; a best-case scenario in which Alice simply shows Bob her face-down card, demonstrating the best that a team can do in playing against the dealer; and lastly, a quantum entanglement scenario.</p><p>In the quantum scenario, the researchers formulated a mathematical model to represent a quantum system, which can be thought of abstractedly as a box with many "buttons," or measurement choices, that is shared between Alice and Bob.</p><p>For instance, if Alice's face-down card is a 5, she can push a particular button on the quantum box and use its output to inform her usual choice of whether to hit or stand. Bob, in turn, looks at his face-down card when deciding which button to push on his quantum box, as well as whether to use the box at all. In the cases where Bob uses his quantum box, he can combine its output with his observation of Alice's strategy to decide his own move. This extra information — not exactly the value of Alice's card, but more information than a random guess — can help Bob decide whether to hit or stand.</p>
<p>The researchers ran all three scenarios, with many combinations of cards between each player and the dealer, and with increasing number of cards left in the dealer's deck, to see how often Alice and Bob could win against the dealer.</p><p>After running thousands of rounds for each of the three scenarios, they found that the players had a slight advantage over the dealer in the quantum entanglement scenario, compared with the classical card-counting strategy, though only when a handful of cards were left in the dealer's deck.</p><p>"As you increase the deck and therefore increase all the possibilities of different cards coming to you, the fact that you know a little bit more through this quantum process actually gets diluted," Formaggio explains.</p><p>Nevertheless, Harrow notes that "it was surprising that these problems even matched, that it even made sense to consider entangled strategy in blackjack."</p><p>Do these results mean that future blackjack teams might use quantum strategies to their advantage?</p><p>"It would require a very large investor, and my guess is, carrying a quantum computer in your backpack will probably tip the house," Formaggio says. "We think casinos are safe right now from this particular threat."</p><p>This research was funded, in part, by the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Office, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the MIT Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).</p><p>Reprinted with permission of <a href="http://news.mit.edu/" target="_blank">MIT News</a>. Read the <a href="http://news.mit.edu/2020/quantum-blackjack-0803" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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Missing the bar? Become a master mixologist in your living room.
Certified sommelier Carlos Batista will show you the ropes of bartending.
28 July, 2020
- Neighborhood bars might be closed, but you can still enjoy your favorite cocktails at home.
- Sommelier Carlos Batista will teach everything you need to know about vodka, sake, tequila, wine, whiskey, and more.
- In his nine-course bundle, you'll learn all about flavors, how to read labels, and how to mix the perfect drink.
<script async="true" src="https://widgets.stackcommerce.com/js-deal-feed/0.1/widget.js" type="text/javascript"></script><p>While the term "social distancing" is on everyone's lips, some recommend the term "physical distancing" instead. We might not be able to crowd into bars, but we can still be social. Zoom happy hours and cocktail sessions, anyone?<br></p><p>If you want to learn how to craft the perfect cocktail, the<a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/the-become-a-professional-mixologist-spirits-bundle?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-become-a-professional-mixologist-spirits-bundle&utm_term=scsf-419765&utm_content=a0x1P000004spmXQAQ&scsonar=1" target="_blank"><strong> Mixologist and Budding Bartender Bundle</strong></a> is for you. This nine-course bundle is taught by Carlos Batista, a master sommelier. And by the end of his 179 lessons, you'll be able to mix anything in your liquor cabinet.</p><p>Do you wonder about the differences between whiskey, bourbon, rye, and scotch? A deep dive into the exciting world of whiskeys and scotches will educate you on the history of these spirits, teach you how to recognize flavors and aromas, and refine your knowledge of reading a label. </p><p>Courses in gin, brandy, vodka, tequila and mezcal, and sake will make you an expert on everything on the shelf. Of course, every sommelier needs to talk about wine, and Batista doesn't let you down. You'll learn how to properly taste wine and detect defects in a glass. You'll also be armed to decant a bottle in a restaurant setting. </p><p>Once you have knowledge of all these liquors, you'll need to know how to put them together. A 20-lesson course in serving cocktails will make you the star of the party—even if, for now, it's in the privacy of your living room.</p><p><strong>Carlos Batista</strong> has worked in the hospitality industry for over two decades. Besides being a certified sommelier, he holds a Specialist of Spirits certification. He's a mixologist, entrepreneur, and author of 11 books related to beer, wine, spirits, sake, cigars, and hospitality service.</p><p><a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/the-become-a-professional-mixologist-spirits-bundle?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-become-a-professional-mixologist-spirits-bundle&utm_term=scsf-419765&utm_content=a0x1P000004spmXQAQ&scsonar=1" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>The Mixologist and Budding Bartender Bundle</strong> </a>is on sale now for just $29.99, a 93% discount from the original price. </p><p><em>Price subject to change. Subscribers must be of legal age where they reside. These courses do not condone underage drinking in any capacity.</em></p><div data-react-checksum="-690468937" data-reactid="1" data-reactroot="" style="position: relative;"><a data-reactid="2" href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/the-become-a-professional-mixologist-spirits-bundle?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral-cta&utm_campaign=the-become-a-professional-mixologist-spirits-bundle&utm_term=scsf-419765&utm_content=a0x1P000004spmXQAQ&scsonar=1" rel="noopener" target="_blank"> </a>
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Creativity: The science behind the madness
Human brains evolved for creativity. We just have to learn how to access it.
03 July, 2020
- An all-star cast of Big Thinkers—actors Rainn Wilson and Ethan Hawke; composer Anthony Brandt; neuroscientists David Eagleman, Wendy Suzuki, and Beau Lotto; and psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman—share how they define creativity and explain how our brains uniquely evolved for the phenomenon.
- According to Eagleman, during evolution there was an increase in space between our brain's input and output that allows information more time to percolate. We also grew a larger prefrontal cortex which "allows us to simulate what ifs, to separate ourselves from our location in space and time and think about possibilities."
- Scott Barry Kaufman details 3 brain networks involved in creative thinking, and Wendy Suzuki busts the famous left-brain, right-brain myth.
Chemistry for kids: Make a DIY bubble snake!
A fun and completely safe experiment for the family to try during quarantine.
22 May, 2020
- Most of us are staying home to help flatten the curve of COVID-19, but that doesn't mean there isn't learning and fun to be had.
- It's important to take a break from screen time. Kate the Chemist, professor, science entertainer, and author of "The Big Book of Experiments," has just the activity: Creating a bubble snake using common household ingredients including dish soap, food coloring, rubber bands, a towel, and a small plastic bottle.
- In this step-by-step tutorial, Kate walks us through the simple process of building the apparatus and combining materials to bring the fun snakes to life.
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