Science as Play

From American Scientist Some placid musing on the topic of whether science is a form of play from French chemist Pierre Laszlo. I go into this in some depth in the book, but I like his quiet assertiveness:

there is some cognitive value to the playful element in science. Playing with ideas is, after all, what science is about. It can be solitary amusement or it can be a collective game, as when physicists or mathematicians gather in front of a blackboard trying out new ideas. I can personally vouch for the games chemists are wont to play. When we set up encounters between various chemicals, our expectations extend those of the child who has been given a paint box and tries mixing various colors just to see what comes out. In the same mood, the chemist asks himself what would happen were he to change the proportions or modify the sequence of the operations in a complex synthesis. Such a playful, childlike attitude can be extremely fruitful. Let us not be too embarrassed to acknowledge that play is often what motivates us.

PS: the picture from the article has the following caption: "Over the night of May 8, 1994, a fake campus police car was placed on top of one of the buildings at MIT—a famous "hack" in the slang of the students. By performing such hoaxes, students get into the spirit of science which, as often as not, is playful and challenges conventionalities."