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(Open-Ended) What is fun? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

17 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A bit of a lighter topic today: What is fun?

This seems like a simple question that would be tempting to hand-wave away as a "Well you know..." but the more I think about it the less cut and dry it seems.

Some prompts to get you thinking

What are the merits and purposes of fun?
What makes something fun? Though different people find different things fun, is there a common thread that makes those things fun?
Is it easier for some kinds of people to have fun than others? What kinds of situations lend themselves to fun experiences, which make them difficult?
Are there ways for people who have forgotten how to have fun to "get back in touch with fun?"
Do you think you have enough fun? Too much?
How much fun is the right, or a good amount?

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I guess I distinguish between "entertainment" and "fun". I, too, am entertained by things, and being entertained is an important part of enjoying life.

As for the "sports ball" fans, the ones I know seem to know the rules, the players, player stats, team stats, the pros and cons of various plays under different circumstances, etc. As much I don't get it, I would hardly call something passive when time is put in doing what I can only call study. There are probably a higher percentage of "critic-level" sports fans than "critic-level"movie fans. How many people can name 5 directors, 1 editor, 1 cinematographer, and 1 costumer? Contrast that to the wealth of knowledge of the average sports fan.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I think you overestimate the average sports fan. The average sports fan isn't the one reciting stats. They're the one watching the game at a friend's place, drinking beer and conversing, looking at the game only when something interesting has developed.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

You could be right. I have no access to any formal study of sports fans, so I have no idea what "average" might be. As with most casual "analysis," I'm limited by my personal experience and am projecting from that. It's not scientifically appropriate, but if I always limit myself to the scientifically appropriate, I have no opportunity to learn from those who know better.

A much better phrasing would be "here is what I've learned from the sports fans I interact with..."

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I guess I distinguish between “entertainment” and “fun”.

I'm not sure that "fun is defined as those things I consider to be fun" is a useful definition. It's a little bit egocentric, don't you think?

The people being "entertained" are exhibiting all the same signs and symptoms as those having "fun" by your bifurcation above. I think, barring some objective way of distinguishing between the two conditions, it's reasonable to assume they're the same state.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Well, I answered the questions to the best of my ability, enjoyed thinking things through enough to feel comfortable contributing, enjoyed seeing what others had to say, and feel good that I have both more awareness of the characteristics of those things I find most enjoyable and what other people think.

I deliberately left out the words "entertainment" and "fun" in that paragraph, but let me return to them now.

I don't know enough to either agree or disagree with your contention that my separation of entertainment and fun is generally unproductive. You write of objective measures, but I don't know if you've considered whether those measures might be improved. Maybe there are better terms than mine to distinguish between active enjoyment (what I call fun) and passive enjoyment (what I call entertainment). And maybe there is truly no difference in outcome.

That doesn't change the fact that I at least think I get more enjoyment out of active engagement, even if the activity is as slight as trying to understand the specific reasons a particular movie was watched through to the end while another was turned off after 10 minutes.

I hypothesize that a complete set of measurements that captures magnitude, not just a binary state, would be able to distinguish between the passive enjoyment I get from funny animal videos, the somewhat more active enjoyment I get from analyzing a movie, and the much more active enjoyment I get from building a boat or writing a new story or writing a new program. But that is a mere suspicion and actual research would be necessary to determine the validity of that hypothesis.