This may not be exactly what the author is writing about (which is a more about creativity), but I find that Matt Levine's writing is just about the perfect ratio of serious to glib. The playful parts are clever and usually in service of whatever point he's making. Entertaining and relatable without the air of trying too hard.
James Mickens is another example, though he leans toward being a humorist first rather than a Serious Person being a bit playful.
The literature of creativity rakes playfulness very seriously. It is playfulness that creates productive association between two apparently disparate elements. Playfulness evolved in the mammalian brain precisely for the purpose of learning new things.
The author of TFA is right to position it at the beginning of the creative process. When the fun is over, skills, craftsmanship and problem solving need to take over before the final outcome becomes real.
This post led me to this amazing video about Janja Garnbret
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_W2hT-HDY
That post links to another, “Surely you can be serious,” that does a good job defining being serious, pitfalls to avoid, and steps you can take: https://www.experimental-history.com/p/surely-you-can-be-ser...
As John Cleese once said, “serious doesn’t inevitably mean solemn”.
Didn’t he also say "ni"?
And also "Ekke Ekke Ekke Ekke Ptang Zoo Boing!", of course.
Related to the playful vs serious, I got a lot out of this essay
> The Playful and the Serious: An approximation to Huizinga's Homo Ludens
<https://gamestudies.org/06010601/articles/rodriges>
This may not be exactly what the author is writing about (which is a more about creativity), but I find that Matt Levine's writing is just about the perfect ratio of serious to glib. The playful parts are clever and usually in service of whatever point he's making. Entertaining and relatable without the air of trying too hard.
James Mickens is another example, though he leans toward being a humorist first rather than a Serious Person being a bit playful.
The literature of creativity rakes playfulness very seriously. It is playfulness that creates productive association between two apparently disparate elements. Playfulness evolved in the mammalian brain precisely for the purpose of learning new things.
The author of TFA is right to position it at the beginning of the creative process. When the fun is over, skills, craftsmanship and problem solving need to take over before the final outcome becomes real.
Oh I thought this would be about Natsume-
Type 2 fun