What is Fun?

[tylersch]

Hey everyone! in attempt to have more fun in my life, and become more of a fun to person to be around, for the past few months I've been doing research learning and figuring out just what this thing we call 'fun' is.
I'd like to get your input on what you think it is!

A few questions I personally have used to brainstorm the topic...
* What is fun?
* What does someone mean when they say "It was a lot fun!" or "I had so much fun!"
* What things/concepts contribute to 'having a good time'?
* What things/concepts discourage 'having the time of your life'?
* What do people do for fun? What is it about it that makes it fun?

Thanks guys! excited to hear what you have to share

[Wax Frog]

For me anyway, research is usually the antithesis of fun

[lifetimelearner]

when I say 'I had fun' I am expressing the fact that I received total enjoyment from an activity-


[YouTube - Oh Gosh!

[tylersch]

Thanks for sharing guys, I'm trying to go deeper than that though

Wax Frog, why is 'research usually the antithesis of fun for you'? is it because it can be tedious, slow, too difficult? etc..

lifetimelearner, what does total enjoyment mean for you?

I know not every one enjoys doing the same things, but I'm trying to find the 'principles', I guess you could say, of Fun.

For example, the most basic primary principle i found is Being aware/experiencing.
What I am trying to find more of is, experiencing, what?
What is fun/enjoyable to experience?

[Daffy Duck]

Fun is a happy, joyous, playful feeling.

Originally Posted by tylersch

What is fun/enjoyable to experience?

Whatever you like! I have a lot of fun bowling, but not everyone likes bowling.

[Wax Frog]

Originally Posted by tylersch

Wax Frog, why is 'research usually the antithesis of fun for you'? is it because it can be tedious, slow, too difficult? etc..

I developed what you might call a hate-hate relationship with it in high school. To me it was all about having to drag myself from library to library to half-heartedly scrape facts and figures out of piles of dusty, dirty old books, to find out things that someone in the know could tell me anyway, when I'd rather be doing something fun (!!!!!!!) like daydreaming or drawing or reading sci-fi...

Ah, to have had the Internet back then - nowadays I actually kind of like forming a question and then digging around the search engines to find a satisfactory answer. Just yesterday I learned that red Amazon peppers (used in a product I tried for the first time - ouch!!! - boast a respectable 75,000 - 80,000 Scoville units) and that the superhot Naga Jolokia and Ghost peppers are indeed one and the same

My heart does still sink if I face the prospect of something time-consuming and 'serious', though.

[wolfgang]

Originally Posted by tylersch

I know not every one enjoys doing the same things, but I'm trying to find the 'principles', I guess you could say, of Fun.

For example, the most basic primary principle i found is Being aware/experiencing.
What I am trying to find more of is, experiencing, what?
What is fun/enjoyable to experience?

If you talk of aware/experiencing that usually implies not putting judgment on that which is happening otherwise that's not being aware - that's being judgmental. And as such being aware is not the same as judging something as fun. Being aware/experiencing of "what is" has a deep joy to it no matter what the appearance of "what is" is. supposedly.

At one level you have judgment of what is to try to find things or activities that the personality likes to be doing. That kind of fun will come and go and also sets one up to be down when there isn't anything fun going on.

At another level, one can see all experience as exactly what is desired and fulfilling as it is. Taking out the trash can be a full activity and "fun" in a way, if there is the perspective of every moment being perfect and full of life already. I think at this level judgment goes away and there is no need to look for fun but paradoxically the joy and freedom and non-judgmental way of going is a fun way to be.

[Plays With Life]

Fun is peanut butter ice cream.

On a more serious note

A subjective emotional experience, I'd say.

You might enjoy something, I think, without calling it fun. ie, a horror movie. I'd guess there's some distinction between "fun" and "enjoyment".

A person might enjoy physical conflict such as boxing / martial arts ringfighting, because it's exhilarating and challenging. But I doubt they'd call the experience of hitting and being hit "fun".

A person might also enjoy pain in a sexual context, and get huge amounts of pleasure from it. But still not calling it "fun". Maybe satisfying, but not fun.

But fun always includes enjoyment, I think.

Just some random thoughts for now

[Engle]

Fun is the small things, which when connected together make for a happy occasion where everybody has a good time.

Yesterday, I coached a team of pre-teens. Rather than drilling through them rules, discipline, hard-work, strategies for winning etc, instead played games, communicated with them, ensured they knew each other, allowed some horse-play, kept up a variety of activities, told sports stories....and so on.

You know they had fun from the banter, smiles on faces, camaraderie, mixing and mingling. This is my objective. When they leave the gym, they should be smiling and wanting to come back.

[lifetimelearner]

geez you are making my brain hurt


okay total enjoyment :

anxiety free,stich in side laughing ,letting loose ,laughing till you feel like peeing in your pants ,happy smiles,being the real me -corny jokes and all
and complete freedom !!!!

[Trezker]

Fun = doing that which interests you.
And interests are different for different people.
If I were to research fun, I'd research how people aquire interests.

Then there's of course the instant variant of fun called humor. Laughing when exposed to something that is funny which, if I recall correctly, in english means strange, odd or different from the ordinary. Jokes usually stop being perceived as funny if you're exposed to them frequently enough simply because then they are no longer strange, they become ordinary.

Same thing applies with interests, if you keep exposing yourself to somehting you find interesting and explore all its possibilities, it becomes boring. However, an interest in a broader topic has great possibilities of exploration so if you keep on exploring new areas of the topic, it will stay fun.

Though often, a big topic grows in difficulty and if you only explore the simple concepts of a topic it will seem boring. You have to grow your own abilities of comprehension and skill to be able to explore more of the topic.

Therefore, personal growth is neccessary to extract more fun from your interests.

[brendannz]

What I do for fun?

make art, play basketball, watch sports, watch movies, go bowling, drink beer..
Primarily

It's funny, because I was talking to some guy at the sports bar today, and he said that sports aren't that important, and I argued that playing & having fun's a big part of our life, and he said "it's all a man invention, about getting in a hole"

Not all sports are like that, but 99% of sports are about being stronger, faster, or getting in a hole. (soccer, golf, hockey, basketball etc.)

Steve Pavlina talks about Napoleon Hill's chapter "sex, love mutation" (in think and grow rich) which is about putting sex energy into your work. Basically being excited about turning up to work..

So I think in essence, fun is all about being a kid and / or making kids.. (ie. having sex or sex-like activities)

Plato (I think) said "You can tell more about a person in 15 minutes of play than hours of conversation"

What do you guys think of this theory?

[brendannz]

[QUOTE=tylersch;441235]

To answer your original question

A few questions I personally have used to brainstorm the topic...
* What is fun?

I posed one theory, (just my thought for the day) Anything can be fun, really. Maybe something that usually is boring for you could become fun with a new attitude

* What does someone mean when they say "It was a lot fun!" or "I had so much fun!"

Either they're being polite or faking their happiness, or they feel alive, and joyful! It's not about what they did but more about the emotions they feel

* What things/concepts contribute to 'having a good time'?

Overcoming challenges, stepping out of your comfort zone, being in the moment, unpredictability

* What things/concepts discourage 'having the time of your life'?

worrying about the past, or worrying about the future.. (being excited about the future on the other hand encourages you to have the time of your life)

* What do people do for fun? What is it about it that makes it fun?

I told you what I do for fun.. cracking the time illusion makes it fun.. experiencing emotions is what makes it fun.

Thanks guys! excited to hear what you have to share

Thanks for asking this question! because I enjoyed thinking about it..

[brendannz]

Originally Posted by Trezker

Then there's of course the instant variant of fun called humor. Laughing when exposed to something that is funny which, if I recall correctly, in english means strange, odd or different from the ordinary. Jokes usually stop being perceived as funny if you're exposed to them frequently enough simply because then they are no longer strange, they become ordinary.

funny means peculiar, and it means hahahah.

The hahaha funny, is more about truth than peculiarity.. Most stand up comedians just stand up and talk about whats true in the world..

[Trezker]

Originally Posted by brendannz

funny means peculiar, and it means hahahah.

The hahaha funny, is more about truth than peculiarity.. Most stand up comedians just stand up and talk about whats true in the world..

Exactly, reflecting on the truth is something out of the ordinary. Usually we just glide through life without thinking more closely about the details. So when someone points out some of these specifics we laugh.

[tylersch]

bump. still lookin for more input! thanks everyone!

[tylersch]

bump. still lookin for more input! thanks everyone!

[sheffy4]

What is fun?
* What does someone mean when they say "It was a lot fun!" or "I had so much fun!"
* What things/concepts contribute to 'having a good time'?
* What things/concepts discourage 'having the time of your life'?
* What do people do for fun? What is it about it that makes it fun?

For me, I think everything I consider "fun" has one common factor:
Being exposed to something new - This contributes a lot to whether something is fun or not because it creates a bit of anxiety, and that anxiety creates an exciting rush that just feels good. For example, I saw an off-broadway musical last night, and it was so fun! I even caught myself trembling while sitting in the audience because I was so excited. It was only my second musical I've ever been to, so a lot of it was me wondering what was going to happen next. Other activities might not be entirely "new" to me, but they have the possibility of creating unexpected circumstances, so they are still fun. For instance, I love hiking. Even hiking a trail I've been on several times is still exciting because nature is always a little different. There could be wildlife I rarely see, or a beautiful sunset, or maybe a surprise rain storm.
Road trips to me are the ultimate good time, especially spontaneous road trips that have lots of room for exploration and the unexpected.
But again, all of these boil down to a feeling of anxiety that comes from not knowing exactly what you're in for. A friend once told me that anxiety without breath is fear, and anxiety with breath becomes excitement.

On the other hand, too much anxiety completely sucks the fun out of an activity for me. If I try something new and I am completely terrible at it, or if it is so unfamiliar to me that anxiousness (usually fun) turns to fear or panic, then I stop having a good time and usually stop doing the activity. For example, a friend of mine loves soccer and is very good, and I was invited to play on his coed team. During the first practice I felt completely overwhelmed and I threw a little tantrum and stomped off the field. I didn't know what to do, and that created a feeling of panic (exacerbated by the fact that I was embarrassed for being the only one who was new to soccer).
So, "fun" for me is a careful balance of anxiousness. Just the right amount can make something thrilling, but too much and I shut down and have a terrible time.

[tylersch]

wow thanks sheffy4! love the response! very detailed, i can use alot of that, ive had very similar observations, im not sure what you meant by 'breath' though, in the "anxiety without breath is fear, and anxiety with breath becomes excitement. " part- what exactly do you mean? i think i get the idea but im having a hard time putting it into words!

thanks again for the awesome comments!

tyler

[sheffy4]

This is what I think it means:
When I am scared, my breath is constricted because of my fear. Sometimes I even hold my breath without realizing it. But once you remember to breath fully and completely, the feeling of fear becomes exhilarating rather than debilitating. It brings you closer to life, while not breathing brings you closer to death. It's not a magical remedy for getting over fear, but it definitely helps!