Fun: Difference between revisions

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[[File:TwoSnowball surfersfight at China.jpg|thumb|SurfersChildren having fun enjoyingplaying theirwith sport[[snow]]]]

== Etymology and usage ==

The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, sexual activity, entertaining media, high merriment,<ref>{{cite book|last=Bailey|first=Nathan|title=An universal etymological English dictionary: comprehending the derivations ...|url=https://archive.org/details/universaletymol00bail|year=1775|publisher=R. Ware, W. Innys|pages=FU|isbn=978-1-234-36393-2}}</ref> and amusement. Although its etymology is uncertain,<ref name=def/> it has been speculated that it may be derived from Middle English ''{{Lang|enm|fonne}}'' (fool) and ''{{Lang|enm|fonnen}}'' (the one fooling the other).<ref>{{cite book |last=Andreyev |first=Judith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yKRqAHhVa0gC&pg=PA26 |title=Wondering about Words: D'où Viennent Les Mots Anglais ?|year=2005 |publisher=Bréal; BREAL |year=2005 |isbn=978-2749503059 |pages=26}}</ref> An 18th century meaning (still used in [[Orkney]] and [[Shetland]]<ref name=def/>) was "cheat, trick, hoax", a meaning still retained in the phrase "to make fun of".<ref>{{cite book|last=Cousineau|first=Phil|title=The Painted Word: A Treasure Chest of Remarkable Words and Their Origins|year=2012|publisher=Cleis Press|isbn=978-1-936740-25-3|pages=156}}</ref>

{{QuotationBlockquote| ''The landlady was going to reply, but was prevented by the peace-making sergeant, sorely to the displeasure of Partridge, who was a great lover of what is called '''fun''', and a great promoter of those harmless quarrels which tend rather to the production of comical than tragical incidents.'' <br />[[Henry Fielding]], ''[[The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling]]'' (1749)<ref>{{cite book|last=Fielding|first=Henry|title=The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling|year= 1749|publisher=Penguin Books (1966)|pages=458 (Book 9, Ch.6)}}</ref> }}

The way the word ''fun'' is used demonstrates its distinctive elusiveness and [[happiness]]. [[Phrase|Expressions]] such as "[[wikt:have fun|Have fun]]!" and "That was fun!" indicate that fun is pleasant, personal, and to some extent unpredictable. Expressions such as "I was [[making fun of]] myself" convey the sense that fun is something that can be amusing and not to be taken seriously. The adjective "funny" has two meanings, which often need to be clarified between a speaker and listener. One meaning is "amusing, jocular, droll" and the other meaning is "odd, quirky, peculiar". These differences indicate the evanescent and experiential nature of fun and the difficulty of distinguishing "fun" from "enjoyment".<ref>{{cite web |author=Alan Dix |title=Fun Systematically |url=http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/~dixa/papers/ECCE-fun-2004/ecce-alan-fun-panel.pdf |authorurl-status=Alan Dix|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613021607/http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/~dixa/papers/ECCE-fun-2004/ecce-alan-fun-panel.pdf |titlearchive-date=Fun Systematically2011-06-13 |accessdateaccess-date=November 1, 2010}}</ref>

Fun's evanescence can be seen when an activity regarded as fun becomes goal-oriented. Many physical activities and individual sports are regarded as fun until the participant seeks to win a competition, at which point, much of the fun may disappear as the individual's focus tightens. Surfing is an example. If you are a "mellow soul" (not in a competition or engaging in extreme sport) "once you're riding waves, you're guaranteed to be having ... fun".<ref>{{cite book|last=Alderson|first=Alf|title=Surfing: A Beginner's Guide|year=2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|location=Chichester, England|at=Preface|isbn=978-0-470-51654-6}}</ref>

== Activities ==

Many physical activities provide opportunities to play and have fun. Not only can these activities be fun, but can also improve physical and mental states.

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== Psychology ==

[[File:"Fun, off the job keeps him on the Job" - NARA - 514789.jpg|thumb|Employmentleft|upright|[[World War II]] era employment poster about the importance of fun]]

According to [[Johan Huizinga]], fun is "an absolutely primary category of life, familiar to everybody at a glance right down to the animal level."<ref>{{citeCite book |authorlast=BruceHuizinga C.|first=Johan Daniels|authorlink=Johan Huizinga|url=https://archive.org/details/homoludensstudyo1950huiz/page/2/mode/2up |title=PuritansHomo atLudens: Play.a Leisurestudy andof Recreationthe inplay Colonialelement Newin England.culture |year=1950 |publisher=St. Martin's Press,Roy Publishers|location=New York,|via=the 1995[[Internet Archive]]|pagep=xiii 3|isbnoclc=978-0-312-12500-41013214672|dateisbn=1995-08-15 9780415175944}}</ref> Psychological studies reveal both the importance of fun and its effect on the [[time perception of time]], which is sometimes said to be shortened when one is having fun.<ref>{{Cite journal

}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Why Time Flies When You're Having Fun|url=http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249410.php|first=Sarah|last=Glynn|work=Medical News Today|date=August 2012|accessdateaccess-date=2013-02-06|quote=Just being content or satisfied may not make time fly, but being excited or actively pursuing a desired object can.}}</ref> As the adage states: "[[wikt:time flies when you're having fun|Time flies when you're having fun]]".

It has been suggested that games, toys, and activities perceived as fun are often challenging in some way. When a person is challenged to think consciously, overcome challenge and learn something new, they are more likely to enjoy a new experience and view it as fun. A change from routine activities appears to be at the core of this perception, since people spend much of a typical day engaged in activities that are routine and require limited conscious thinking. Routine information is processed by the brain as a "chunked pattern": "We rarely look at the real world", according to game designer [[Raph Koster]], "we instead recognize something we have chunked, and leave it at that. [...] One might argue that the essence of much of art is in forcing us to see things as they really are rather than as we assume them to be".<ref>{{cite book |last=Koster |first=Raph |authorlinkurl=Raphhttps://books.google.com/books?id=gIGxSe2MsecC&pg=PA22 Koster|title=Theory of Fun for Game Design|year=2010 |publisher=O'Reilly Media, Inc. |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4493-1497-2 |pages=22 |author-link=Raph Koster}}</ref> Since it helps people to relax, fun is sometimes regarded as a "social lubricant", important in adding "to one's pleasure in life" and helping to "act as a buffer against stress".<ref name="Urdang">{{cite book |last=Urdang |first=Esther |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_xR7o8hvatkC&pg=PA445 |title=Human Behavior in the Social Environment: Interweaving the Inner and Outer Worlds|year=2008 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7890-3417-5|pages=445 |edition=2nd |pages=445}}</ref>

== Physiology ==

== In popular culture ==

== References ==

== Further reading ==