3 Principles of Goofing Around

I heard a couple good stories the other day about the value of daydreaming, playing, fiddling, futzing, noodling, tinkering – that age-old, hugely underrated activity known as goofing around.

Story #1 takes place in the seventies, at an international ski race in Austria. The world's best racers are all training on a course that possesses a slightly unique feature: after the finish line, skiers must traverse a long, flat section that leads back to the chairlift.

Now most competitors do exactly w...