How to Use Fun to Find Meaning in Life

Posted September 13, 2016

External Article: The Atlantic

Ian Bogost, professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, was interviewed in "How to Use Fun to Find Meaning in Life" by The Atlantic about his new book, Play Anything.

Excerpt:

Ian Bogost is really into things. He’s been my colleague for the three years I’ve worked at The Atlantic, and in that time, there have been a lot of chats in our work Slack-room about video games and Soylent and Tab and typewriters and the new iPhone’s missing headphone jack. He also edits Object Lessons, a series that goes super in-depth on the history and meaning of things, like cardigans and meatballs.

So it’s not surprising to those who know him that his newest book, Play Anything,is mostly about stuff, all the stuff that makes up the world, from the duct tape at Walmart with the boys of One Direction printed on it to his lawnmower. (He talks about his lawnmower a lot.) By paying attention to this stuff instead of just dismissing it, we can find meaning, he says.

For the full article, read here