Welcome to my blog!
I’ll briefly try to explain what the Sandbox Spirit is.
One thing that is true of most mammals (humans included) is that they exhibit a strange behavior: playing.
For us, it’s something normal. We are accustomed to it, and we don’t think about it too much. It’s what kids do. And adults sometimes. Some of them at least.
But imagine a foreign researcher from a distant planet examining our species. They would find this behavior very strange. They for sure wouldn’t know what to think. From an evolutionary standpoint, it doesn’t make sense. Why play? It consumes resources without a clear benefit. Moreover, it can also be very risky. A clumsy cub stumbling around just to fall prey to some predator.
But still, playing exists, and it’s a reality that brings a benefit that isn’t very clear in hindsight.
Simulation of Life
I like to think that playing is essentially just a way to simulate life.
By playing, species get to practice before experiencing a real-life event. And most of the time in nature, this can be the difference between life and death. Lion cubs simulate fights with each other just to develop their skills to grab prey. Young rabbits chase each other just to practice running from predators. And humans, what do they simulate for?
Well, humans have very complex brains, but the base architecture is still there. We humans love to simulate life. Just ask yourself: why would a toddler like playing with baby dolls? Sometimes I like to joke that it’s a baby playing with a baby, it doesn’t make sense. We just simulate life; we repeat what we see our parents do. Boys would play with cars to simulate movement, control, and causality.
And that’s why I think playing is actually just life simulation.
The sandbox
For me, the sandbox is the essence of simulation. A kid playing in a sandbox has the power to imagine whatever they want. No rules, no winning, no time limit.
When I was a child, playing with sand would suddenly unlock new worlds. Castles, cities, rivers, caves, roads. It felt like imagination could render whatever I wanted.
When I was a kid, playing with sand, I felt my brain could render whatever I wanted. Not sure why, but imagination then was stronger than ever. It’s when playing with simple toys with unrestricted rules that humans can imagine whatever they want.
Simple toys with open-ended rules trigger something powerful in our minds. I guess when information is limited, the brain just tries to fill the gaps with imagination.
An ability about to go extinct
As days went by, I felt this less and less. Adults want to play as well, but for some reason, their ability to imagine worlds just decreases. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s just responsibilities, maybe it’s the fear of looking foolish, or maybe because the world we live in tries to do the imagination part for us.
The game industry doesn’t help either, as games were optimized to hijack our dopamine with gambling mechanics. And now, with the AI era around the corner, trying to imagine things for ourselves, I feel creativity and curiosity are in danger.
The Spirit
Sandbox Spirit embodies the pure joy you had as a kid playing with simple toys, a joy that felt deeper and more satisfying than anything else.
My dream is to create ways to bring back this feeling through technology and knowledge sharing.
That’s what this blog is about and what I am. And that’s the kind of things I want to️ build.