Playing is good because it helps one learn. Children learn primarily through play, an insight which informs much educational software such as
ReaderRabbit[
http://www.readerrabbit.com/] and
JumpStart.
Database miners sometimes say, "play with the data" to mean trying many ways of looking at it and finding patterns. In some sense, then, this entire
PatternRepository is the result of people playing with ideas and experiences. --
EdPoor