My brother and I were reminiscing about childhood games and realized we have completely different memories of what made them fun - he remembers the rules and competition, I remember the imagination and story-making. We're wondering if we were even playing the same games or if play means fundamentally different things to different people.
More people experience this than they realize.
You're confronting whether play has universal qualities or if it's entirely subjective, shaped by individual temperament and values.
“Where Are You with What is play — a philosophical definition?”
If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.