Play Makes Us Human

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D3. Why Did Teen Suicides (Especially for Boys) Decline Sharply from 1990 to 2005?
Was the digital revolution—with new technology to master and video games to play—a cause of the decline in teen suicides?
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Peter Gray
27
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#23. Make-Believe Is How We Find Meaning in Life
Make-believe originates in our playful nature, but it provides the foundation for our serious life purposes.
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Peter Gray
11
D2. Why Did Teen Suicides (Especially for Boys) Increase Sharply from 1950 to 1990?
Here I discuss evidence related to various theories about this huge increase in suicide rate and conclude that decline in kids' freedom to be kids was…
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Peter Gray
49
#22. The Playful Nature of Hunter-Gatherer Religions
All religion is founded on the human capacity to play (to make believe), but hunter-gatherer religions were play through and through.
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Peter Gray
19
#21. The Play Theory of Hunter-Gatherer Egalitarianism
Hunter-gatherers countered the human drive to dominate by cultivating the equally powerful human drive to play.
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Peter Gray
10
D1. How Might We Explain the Huge Changes in Suicide Rates for Teens Over the Past 7 Decades?
This is an honest question. I present the data and ask for ideas.
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Peter Gray
65
#20. Play Can Tip the Balance from Despotic Toward Egalitarian Living: The Case for Macaques
Comparisons of despotic and more tolerant macaque societies help us understand how play can promote cooperative living.
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Peter Gray
#19. How Play Enables Female Bonobos to Prevent Male Dominance
The feminist revolution in our close ape cousins was a matter of play.
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Peter Gray
1
Play Makes Us Human
Letters about the roles of play in human evolution, child development, culture, and daily living
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Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life

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