In Defence of Childish Things: UX Week Talk

“When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” C. S Lewis

When we become professionals in a modern world of specialization, we set aside many of the things that made us happy as children: play, drawing, storytelling. But is this the right decision? Paintings by Bruegel show adults playing games in the street. Behavioral evolutionists have discovered storytelling is a survival trait. Most great thinkers draw, from Einstein and theoretical mathematicians to composers and choreographers like Merce Cunningham. When we set aside these fundamental human activities, are we really being grownups? Or are we crippling our ability to excel in exchange for the semblance of adulthood?

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