Human toddlers clumsily run around and climb up, over, or into anything they can, until they become skilled at moving around a complex natural environment. With those basic skills mastered, they move on to more advanced multiplayer predator-prey games, such as tag, hide-and-seek, and sharks and minnows. As they get older still, verbal play—as in gossip, teasing, and joking around—gives them an advanced course in nuance, nonverbal cues, and instantaneous relationship repair when something they said fails to produce the desired response. Over time, they develop the social skills necessary for
...more
