Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Good entertainment powers imagination

This principle describes that entertainment that we individually enjoy can create value to us by expanding our imagination. When we engage in live entertainment or interesting movies, we are able to expand our imagination by exposing ourselves to different situations, behaviours and emotions that we may not be familiar with. As a result, this exposure enables us to delve deep into an unknown place where we can imagine what it is like to be there. With this concept in mind, "good" entertainment is completely subjective but can be shared amongst individuals that share a common demographic or culture. Furthermore, entertainment is not limited to common art forms like music and drawing but can extend to board games, recreation and even understanding different individuals!

To best employ this principle, it is very important to understand that different individuals find entertainment in different places. Even though you may not engage in video games, it does not mean it cannot create value to another individual. When we are biased towards different forms of entertainment, we limit ourselves to different forms that can be useful for us.

In my personal life, I try to be receptive of what other's find entertaining. For example, I attend live concerts that I may not necessarily be interested in but make sure to go with someone who is, so that I can have a better understanding of how it can be a positive form of entertainment and how it works for evolving their imaginations. One of my favorite forms of entertainment are board games because they are more tangible to me than video or online games. I also find them entertaininig because it can create real relationships with others, or test existing ones in your life. A board game that powers my imagination the most is Scattergories where the objective of the game is to think of unique words for 12 different categories where your opponents are given the same letter that it must start with. This is entertaining for me because it helps me think on my toes, but strive to be creative so that I can think of different words from my opponents.


What prevents me from applying this principle more consistently are my own assumptions of other forms of entertainment. At times I base whether I believe a form of entertainment to be positive or negative on one experience. By doing so, I limit myself to different experiences that can alter my understanding and view on types of entertainment. For example, I do not find country music as an appealing form of entertainment but have only based it on a few songs and not the entertainment that it's live form can bring.

An opposing point of view towards this principle may be that all forms of entertainment can be positive for anyone. This mindset is valid in that entertainment that we may not find appealing can still power our imagination by first finding and understanding the value that it brings to those who do find it entertaining. By doing so, we can be imaginative and more knowledgeable of forms of entertainment we are not accustomed to.

A question that still remains regarding this principle is:
Much of the time, it requires money to subject ourselves to different forms of entertainment (ie. buying concert or movie tickets) and that can limit an individual to choosing what they are naturally interested in. That being said, what are other methods we can expose ourselves to different (valuable)forms of entertainment that can create value but not be costly?

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