FunLanguage:Sharingthe“Fun”toInvitePeopletoDoDailyActivitiesTAKASHIIBA,FacultyofPolicyManagement,KeioUniversityAYAKAYOSHIKAWA,FacultyofEnvironmentandInformationStudies,KeioUniversityHITOMISHIMIZU,FacultyofPolicyManagement,KeioUniversity

Thispaperproposesamethodtoorganizeandshareelementsofenjoymentinactivities,theFunLanguage.Itisalanguageinwhichtheelementsofenjoymentwithinatargetedfieldofactivitiesareorganizedintosmallunits,andarenamed.Comparedtoapatternlanguage,whichaimstogeneratequalityinadesign,thepurposeofaFunLanguageistoinvitemorepeopletodotheactivity.Itscentralpurposeisnottodefine/formalizeacertainelementofenjoyment,butrathertoopenupthe“waysofenjoying”thatareinternaltocertainindividualsandallowotherstolearn/talkaboutthem.Inotherwords,theaimistosharetheknow-howsonenjoyingvariousactivitiestoultimatelyincreasethequalityofpeople’slivesinsociety.ThispaperdiscussesthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenFunLanguagesandpatternlanguagesandpresentsanexampleinthetopicsofprogramming,reading,homefarming,andcooking.Furthermore,thepurposeoftheFunLanguageisdiscussedbyexaminingpsychologistMihalyCsikszentmihalyi’sFlowtheoryforlivelyandcreativeactivities.

CategoriesandSubjectDescriptors:[Socialandprofessionaltopics]:Managementofcomputingandinformationsystems—Projectandpeoplemanagement

GeneralTerms:HumanFactors

AdditionalKeyWordsandPhrases:Motivation,activity,patternlanguage,funlanguage,flow,psychologyACMReferenceFormat:

Iba,T.,Yoshikawa,A.andShimizu,H.2017.FunLanguage:Sharingthe“Fun”toInvitePeopletoDoDailyActivities.HILLSIDEProc.ofConf.onPatternLang.ofProg.24(October2017),11pages.

1. INTRODUCTION

Whenoneisengagedintheactofcreatingordoingsomething,therecanbeagapinhowtheactisperceivedfromtheoutsideandtheinside(whattheactreallymeanstothepersonwhoisdoingit).Forinstance,whensomeoneiscooking,thepurposeofthatactmaysolelybetopreparefoodinordertogetnutritionorenjoytheactofcookingasahobby.Similarly,onemayengageintheactivityofshoemakingbecauseitistheirjob,whileothersmay enjoy shoemaking as an art form.Hence, the purpose or themeaning of any activitywill differdependingonhowandwhoisdoingit.Let’s say someone enjoys programming. That person (most likely) likes programming because he/she hasdiscoveredacertain“enjoyment”behindcreatingaprogram;itisnotthattheysimplyenjoytheactoftypingcommandsandvariablesonto thekeyboard.This is at least the casewithLinusTorvalds, the creatorof theLinuxOS,whostatesthat,“totheoutside,it(programming)lookslikethemostboringthingonEarth,”butthat“tosomebodywhodoesit,it’sthemostinterestingthingintheworld.”Healsodescribesprogrammingas,“agamemuchmoreinvolvedthanchess,agamewhereyoucanmakeupyourownrulesandwheretheendresultiswhateveryoucanmakeofit”(Torvalds&Diamond,2001,p.73).Torvaldsstatesthereasonbehindhisloveforprogramminginthefollowingstatement.

“Whatmakesprogrammingsoengagingisthat,whileyoucanmakethecomputerdowhatyouwant,youhavetofigureouthow.I’mpersonallyconvincedthatcomputersciencehasalot incommonwithphysics.Bothareabouthowtheworldworksata rather fundamentallevel.Thedifference,ofcourse,isthatwhileinphysicsyou’resupposedtofigureouthowtheworld is made up, in computer science you create the world. Within the confines of thecomputer,you’rethecreator.Yougettoultimatelycontroleverythingthathappens.Ifyou’regoodenough,youcanbeGod.Onasmallscale”(Torvalds&Diamond,2001,p.73).

Permissiontomakedigitalorhardcopiesofallorpartofthisworkforpersonalorclassroomuseisgrantedwithoutfeeprovidedthatcopiesarenotmadeordistributedforprofitorcommercialadvantageandthatcopiesbearthisnoticeandthefullcitationonthefirstpage.Tocopyotherwise,torepublish,topostonserversortoredistributetolists,requirespriorspecificpermission.Apreliminaryversionofthispaperwaspresentedinawriters'workshopatthe24thConferenceonPatternLanguagesofPrograms(PLoP).PLoP'17,OCTOBER22-25,Vancouver,Canada.Copyright2017isheldbytheauthor(s).HILLSIDE978-1-941652-06-0

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Ofcourse,what isstatedabove isnot theonlyenjoymentofprogramming.Therearepeoplewhohavetheirownwaysofenjoying it.However, therearealsomanypeoplewhowouldagreewithTorvalds’sdescriptionandfeelthesame,includingIba,oneoftheauthorsofthispaper,whohasenjoyedprogrammingfromayoungage.However,forpeoplewhoarecompletelyunfamiliarwiththeenjoymentofprogramming,thiswayofthinkingis extremely surprising and new. For instance, the other two authors of this paper (who do not likeprogramming and have never done it outside of introductory courses) were surprised to learn that somepeople enjoy programming for this reason, with reactions such as, “I didn’t know programming could bethoughtofthatway”and“Imighthaveenjoyedprogrammingclassesmoreif Ihadthisperspective.”Indeed,thefeelingsofthepeoplewhoengageinacertainactivityareinvisibletothosewhohavelittleornoexperienceofit.The fact that therecanbevariousmeanings/motivation for thesameactivity indicates that it ispossible forpeople to change their ownmeaning/motivation for the activity as well. Therefore, if the ways to enjoy acertain activity is shared such that people can access them,manypeoplewill have the chance to enjoy thatactivity for themselves. This can be said about various activities in various fields. This paper proposes amethodtosharetheelementsofenjoymentinacertainactivity,whichwecall,theFunLanguage.AFunLanguagecontainsthe“waysofenjoying”withinatargetedfieldofactivities,whichareorganizedintosmallunits,andarenamed.Thisstructureissimilartothatofapatternlanguage(Alexander,1977;Iba,2016).Webelievethatinanydomain,apatternlanguageandFunLanguagecanbecreatedtogetherasaset,inordertosupportboththequalityofthedesignitself,aswellasthequalityofexperienceforthepeopleengagingintheprocessofcreating/doingthedesign.1ThecentralpurposeofcreatingFunLanguagesisnottodefine/formalizeacertainelementofenjoyment,butrathertoopenupthe“waysofenjoying”thatareinternaltocertainindividuals,andallowotherstolearn/talkabout them. In otherwords, the aim is to share the know-hows on enjoying various activities to ultimatelyincreasethequalityofpeople’slivesinsociety(Figure1).Inwhatfollows,theconceptoftheFunLanguageisproposed,firstofall,byexaminingitsdifferenceswiththepatternlanguage.AsanexampleofaFunLanguage,thefunlanguagesforreading,homefarming,andcookingare introduced. Further, the implication and future direction of the Fun Language are discussed usingpsychologistMihalyCsikszentmihalyi’sFlowtheory.

Fig.1.DifferenceinFormsofPatternLanguageandFunLanguage.

1Theterm“CreativeLanguage”isusedtorefertothevariouslanguagesincludingPatternLanguage,FunLanguage,andFutureLanguage(Iba,2016).Inotherwords,bothFunLanguageandPatternLanguagearedifferenttypesofCreativeLanguages.

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2. FUNLANGUAGE

FunLanguageisacollectionofperspectivesandactionsthatallowsoneto“enjoy”acertainactivity.ThetermFunLanguage,likepatternlanguage,pointstoboththemethodologyandthelanguagesthemselves.Inpractice,aFunLanguagewillbecreatedforacertaintargetdomain(FunLanguagefor…)thattheauthorchoosestofocuson.AFunLanguagecomprisesofwaystoenjoyacertainactivity,organizedintosmallunits,whichwecall “Fun.”Each“Fun”unitcontains informationaboutwhenandhowtoenjoythatactivity,and isnamedwitha“FunWord.”Thisstructureismuchsimilartothatofthepatternlanguage,whichiscomposedofvariouspatternsandeachhasapatternname(Alexander,1979).IfthestructureoftheFunLanguageandthepatternlanguageissosimilar,isitnecessarytodifferentiatethemastwodifferenttypesoflanguages?Theansweris,despitetheirsimilarities,thetwohavedistinctdifferencesthat indicatetheyshouldbeconsideredastwoseparate languages.FunLanguageandpatternlanguagehavethreemaindifferences:theirtarget,format,andpurpose.

2.1 FunLanguagetargetsthestateofmindofthepeopleThe firstdifferencebetween theFunLanguageandpattern language is in their target.Apattern language iscreatedtofunctionasacommonlanguagetoenableagooddesign.Inotherwords,thepatternistargetedtochangetheproductitselfthatisbeingconstructed/created.Incontrast,aFunLanguagefocusesonthefeelingsofthepeoplewhoaredoingtheconstructing/creating.Interestingly, Christopher Alexander, who created the pattern language method and emphasized theimportanceofcreating“qualitywithoutaname”intownsandbuildings,doesnotmentionanythingaboutthe“feelingsof thepeople” that create the townsandbuildings.Tobemore specific,Alexanderdoes talk abouthow thepeoplewhoparticipate in theconstructionprocessput in their feelings into thebuildings, and thatpeople’scomfortinlivingspacesisimportant(Alexander,1979;Alexander,etal.,1985;Alexander,2002),buthemakes no statements about the people during the construction process itself. This fact is not surprising,however, since Alexander is an architect, not a psychologist. The same can be said about patterns in thesoftwarefield(BeckandCunningham,1987;Gamma,etal.,1995).ForFunLanguage,however,thetarget isonthefeelingsofthepeoplewhoengageinanactivity.That is, thefocus is on “how tomake a certain activity enjoyable.” As a result, a Fun Language does not deal with theproduct of the activity. The underlying intention is that enjoying the process of creating/doing somethingincreasestheperson’seffortandmotivationfortheactivity,whichshouldnaturallycreatebetterresults.ThisiswhytheFunLanguagefocusesonthepsychologicalsideofthecreating/doingprocess.

2.2 Thereisno“Problem”tobesolvedinaFunLanguageTheseconddifferencebetweenaFunLanguageandapatternlanguageliesinitsformat.ApatterninapatternlanguageconsistsofaContextinwhichacertainProblemoccurs,andpresentsaSolutiontosolvethatsituationaswell as the resulting Consequence.However, in a Fun Language, there is noProblem to solve. Instead, itsimplydescribesaContextinwhichaSolutionisenacted,whichleadstoacertainConsequence.Moreprecisely,theterm“solution”impliesthatthereisaproblematicsituationtobeginwith,soitshouldbemoresuitabletousethetermsContext,Action,andConsequence.TheimportanceofhavingaProblemstatementinapatternlanguagehasbeendiscussedbyAlexanderandhisdefinitionofdesign.Accordingtohisdefinition,designisanactinwhichonecreatesaformthatfitsacertainsituation (Alexander 1964).More specifically, every environment has various forces that existwithin them,whichworktogethertocreateaconflict,andadesignissomethingthatshouldsolvethatconflictandcreateharmony(Alexander,1979).Ontheotherhand,eachunitofFuninaFunLanguagedoesnothaveanyproblemtobesolved.ThisisbecauseeachFunsuggestsacertainwaytoenjoysomething,notasolutiontosolveaproblematicsituation;evenifonefailstotakethataction,noproblemwilloccur.Ofcourse,ifthereisnoFunatallinanactivity,therewillbetheproblem that the act has no excitement or entertainment,whichmay cause the person to feel unmotivatedaboutengaginginthatactivity.However,thisproblem(thatthereisnomotivation)isapsychologicaloneandisnotaresultofconflictingforces,whichsuggeststhatitiscompletelydifferentfromtheProblemstatementsinpatternlanguages.Our current proposal of the form of Fun Language is as follows: Context, Perform, Resulting Forces, andConsequence.Inotherwords,whenapersonperformswhatisdescribedinafun,newforceswillbeaddedto

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thecontext,whichthenresultsinadifferentconsequence.PerformingaFunWordresultsindifferentforcesisa key characteristic and should be emphasized. Figure 2 compares it with the form of Pattern Language:Context,(Forces),Problem,Solution,andConsequence.

Fig.2.DifferenceinFormsofPatternLanguageandFunLanguage.

2.3 FunLanguageenhancesthe“qualityofexperience”ofthepeopleThethirddifferencebetweenFunLanguageandpatternlanguageisthepurposeofthelanguages.Thepurposeof pattern language is to generate quality in an object that is produced through a process ofconstructing/creating.Alexander calls this a “qualitywithout aname,” andhe createdapattern language togenerate thisquality(Alexander,1979).Onthecontrary, thepurposeof theFunLanguage is toenhance the“qualityofexperience”ofthepeoplewhoareengaginginacertainactivity(includingconstructingandcreatingadesign).Inapatternlanguage,thepeopleinvolvedaremerelycomponents;itisbycreatinganoutputwiththe“qualitywithoutaname”thatthepeopleinvolvedcangainenjoyment.Themotivationofthosewhoareinvolvedinthedesigning/constructingprocessisbornthroughthedesiretoachievethe“qualitywithoutaname”intheirfinaloutput. This approach, though effective for achieving quality results, is not directly effective in motivatingpeople’sparticipationintheprocess.Ontheotherhand,FunLanguagedirectlycontributestoraisingpeople’smotivationtoparticipateinanactivity.Ithelpseventhosewhoareinexperiencedtograspthefunandenjoymentofthecertainactivity.Onceapersonisabletoexperiencetheenjoymentanddevelophis/herownmotivation,he/shewillbemorelikelytocommittothatactivitywithmorepassion.Hence,thepurposeoftheFunLanguageistoenhancepeople’s“qualityofexperience”bysuggestingwaystofindenjoymentinanactivity.Whenonediscoversanelementof“fun”inanactivity,itgraduallyleadsto“enjoyment,”whichthendevelopsintoamorelong-termfeelingof“joy.”Tosummarize,FunLanguageissimilartopatternlanguage,inthatitcontributestothegenerationof“quality”byusingacommonlanguagetopromotecommunicationandthinking,butdiffersintermsofitstarget,format,andpurpose.The followingsectionwill introduceexamplesofFunLanguage, theFunLanguage for reading,homefarming,andcooking.

3. EXAMPLESOFFUNLANGUAGE

We here present several examples of fun languages: one regarding programming (mentioned earlier in thepaper),aswellasthreemoreexamplesfromothertopics.First,theenjoymentofprogrammingdescribedinLinus’squotecanbeexpressedasthefollowing“fun.”CreatorofaWorldAtfirstglance,programmingmayseemlikeasimpletaskofputtingincommandstoacomputer.However,inreality,itisaboutcreatingaworldofyourown,whereyougettodecidetherules.Inotherwords,youarethe“god”inchargeofrunningthatworld.Whattheusersoftheprogramwillexperienceistotallyuptoyou!Thisfeelingofcontrolisunlikeanythingelse.

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3.1 FunLanguageforReading

Thenextexampleisfromthefunlanguageforreading.

BooktheDate

It’sdifficult to find time for reading indaily life, so I sometimes reserve thewholeday for thebookandspendthedayinluxury.Iblockthedaybyactuallywriting“ReadingDay”inmyschedulebook,turningdownotherplansbysaying,“Sorry,IalreadyhaveplanswithHemingway,”asamatter-of-factly.

BrainWorkoutRush

SomedayswhenI'mfeelingambitious,IreadasmanybooksasIcan,packinginthemaximumamountofinformationthatmybraincanhandle,andthinkonandonabouteverythingItookin.AfterI’veorganizedit,absorbedit,andhavegotanunderstandinginmyhead,Igetarushsimilartotheboostinconfidenceafteranintenseworkout:tiredbutrefreshed.It’ssupereffectivewhenIhavesomethingonmymind,orwhenreachingtoadeadend.

BookstoreSupporter

ImakeitmypersonalrulethatwhenIcomeacrossareallygreatbookatabookstore,Ibuyitonthespot.Evenifit’salittleheavyoratadbitpricierthantheonesoldonline,Ibuyitthereasa“thanksforlettingmemeetmynewbelovedbook.”Oh,howgooditfeelstobeabookstorepatron!

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3.2 FunLanguageforHomeFarming

Thesecondexampleisafunlanguageforhomefarming:

ABitofEverything

Planting a little bit of many kinds of vegetables and fruits (one pot a plant, two pots for seeds)makeswateringapleasure,withchangeslikebudding,blooming,andbearingfruitcomingupeveryday.Sinceharvesttimesdifferforeachplant,youhavethetreatofharvestingsomethingeveryday.

MindfulWateringTime

Wateringtime(whenitgetshotorintheevening)isthetimewhenyoucanclearyourheadandrelaxinyourbusylife.Youcanobtainthetimebythinkingthatwateringisessentialfortheplantstokeepgrowingorfromnotwithering,soyoumusthaveenoughtimetowatertheplantsandemptyyourmind.Justwatchingtheplantsandsoilwithoutanythinginmindwillbeaprecioustimetospendthedayinacheerfulmood.

RainDayTreat

Rainusuallydampenstheday,butwithplantsonyourmind, itturnsintoawelcomingsurprise.Therainenablesyoutogetabreakfromwateringyourplants,whichcanbeatreatsometimeswhenyouarebusy.Eventhoughrainisregardedasbothersome,itcanseemlikeagiftfromnaturewhenyouhaveplantsinyourgarden.Howwonderfulisittofeelyourselfaspartofnatureonrainymornings?

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3.3 FunLanguageforCooking

Thethirdexampleisafunlanguageforcooking(Shimizuetal.,2017):

Chef’sPrivilege

Whencookingforeveryone,you,a“chef,”couldappreciatehavinga littletreat.Tricksandprivilegesthatyouhavebecauseyouareinthekitchenfillyouwithgiggles,makingyouwanttobeinthekitchenandmakefood forpeople.Now,whichplateshould Iput the“bingo”/prize in today?Forexample,onweekends,drinkwinefromaglasswhilemakingpasta;sneakinoneluckyeggrollfilledwithcheese;whencookingwithfriends,takesneak-peakbitesofthefoodbeforeitgetstothetable.

MotivationSwitch

Evenifyouwanttocook,youtendtobecomelazywithoutatrigger.Insituationslikethat,useyourownlittlespelltotuneyourselfintothecookingmode.Ifyoucangetyourmindreadybeforestandinginthekitchen,youknowyoucanbemotivatedandhaveagoodtime.Forexample,actuallydowarmupstopumpupyourblood flow before cooking; put on your favorite apron and switch to your “cookingmode;”wash your facebeforegoingintothekitchentofreshenupyourmind.

KitchenFantasy

Whencookingcurry,thespicesleadyoutowanttogotoIndia.Youhesitatedforawhile,butyoufollowedandturnedtheIndianmusicon.Yourbodyisdancingwithoutcontrol.Youarestirringandthrowinginthespicesrhythmically.YouarestartingtofeellikeyouareinIndia.Music,clothes,theentrancecanbeanything.Itcountsonyoutoenjoytheworld,orhesitateandnotgetabsorbedinit.OtherexamplesaremakeChinesefoodwhilewearingachinadress;listentothesoundtracksof“TheNutcracker”asyoumakeaYulelogcake.

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4. FUNANDFLOW

WenowexaminehowaFunLanguagefunctionsinmakinganactivityenjoyable.Tostartbystatingtheconclusion,FunLanguageprovidesnottheenjoymentsyougainfromtheactivityitself,butthosethatenablepeopletokeepengagingintheactivityuntilhe/shereachesthepointofenjoyingit(Figure3).TakingtheexamplefromtheFunLanguageforcooking,listeningtoIndianmusicwhilecookingmotivatesthepersontocook,andleadstoeventuallydiscoveringtheenjoymentinthecookingprocess.Inthissense,FunLanguageisatooltoinvitepeopletodoacertainactivity.Thissectionlooksatthetheoryofflowtoexaminetherelationbetweentheenjoymentgainedfromengaginginanactivityandflow.

Figure3.FunLanguagesupportsthepersontocontinueengaginginanactivityuntilhe/shereachesthestateofflowinwhichenjoymentisgainedfromtheactivityitself.

TodiscussthegoaloftheFunLanguage,thissectionexaminestheoriesbyMihalyCsikszentmihalyi,apsychologistwhoengagedinresearchaboutenjoymentandcreativity.Csikszentmihalyiconductedinterviewswithpeoplewhoengagedincreativeactivitiesinvariousfieldstofindoutwhattheirmentalstateswerelikeandfoundthefollowingcommonality.

What is extraordinary in this case is thatwe talked to engineers and chemists,writers andmusicians, businesspersons, and social reformers, historians and architects, sociologists andphysicians—andtheyallagreethattheydowhattheydoprimarilybecauseit’sfun.Yetmanyothersinthesameoccupationsdon’tenjoywhattheydo.So,wehavetoassumethatitisnotwhatthesepeopledothatcountsbuthowtheydoit.Beinganengineeroracarpenterisnotinitself enjoyable. But if one does these things a certain way, then they become intrinsicallyrewarding,worthdoingfortheirownsake.(Csikszentmihalyi,1996,p.107–108)

AsCsikszentmihalyistates,whatsetsapartpeoplewhoenthusiasticallyengageinactivitiesfromthosewho

don’t is that they are able to make what is originally not enjoyable into something that they enjoy.Csikszentmihalyialsoconductedresearchonchessplayers,rockclimbers,dancers,andcomposers,whoworkforjoyratherthanjustformoneyorfame.Throughhisresearch,hefoundthatthestateofbeingcompletelyengagedinanactivitybringssatisfactionandmotivation,andhecalledthatconditionastateof“flow.”

Afterexaminingourinterviewandquestionnaireresults,weconcludedthatpeoplewhoenjoywhat they are doing enter a state of “flow”: they concentrate their attention on a limitedstimulus field, forget personal problems, lose their sense of time and of themselves, feelcompetentandincontrol,andhaveasenseofharmonyandunionwiththeirsurroundings.To

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the extent that these elementsof experience arepresent, a person enjoyswhatheor she isdoingandceasestoworryaboutwhethertheactivitywillbeproductiveandwhetheritwillberewarded.(Csikszentmihalyi,1975,p.182)

“Flow”experience“isthetermmanyofthepeopleweinterviewedhadusedintheirdescriptionsofhowit

felttobeintopform:‘Itwaslikefloating,’‘Iwascarriedonbytheflow’”(Csikszentmihalyi,1990,p.40).Oncea person enters this “holistic sensation that people feel when they act with total involvement”(Csikszentmihalyi, 1975, p.36), one would feel more enjoyment in that activity, which gives them moresatisfaction and motivation to engage in it. In other words, the activity will become more intrinsicallyrewardingandautotelic.Theterm“autotelic” iscomposedoftheGreekword“auto,”whichmeans“self,”andtheGreekword“telos,”whichmeans“purpose,”andtogethermeans“self-fulfilling.”

Whenoneisinastateof“flow,”thepersongoesthroughgrowthandchange.Duringastateof“flow,”onemayfeelthathe/sheis“designingordiscoveringsomethingnew”(Csikszentmihalyi,1996,p.108),butinfactatthesametime,thereisa“lossoftheself”thatoccurs,whichallowsonetotranscendtheirboundaries.Inotherwords,asone’sconcentrationandengagementheightens,thesenseof“self”becomeslostfromthemind.

In oneof hisworks, Csikszentmihalyi describes the followingwordsof a climber: “It’s a Zen feeling, likemeditationorconcentration.Onethingyou’reafteristheone-pointednessofmind.Youcangetyouregomixedupwithclimbinginallsortsofwaysanditisn’tnecessarilyenlightening.Butwhenthingsbecomeautomatic,it’s like an egoless thing, in a way” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p.63). Furthermore, he states, “when notpreoccupiedwith ourselves, we actually have a chance to expand the concept of whowe are. Loss of self-consciousnesscanleadtoself-transcendence,toafeelingthattheboundariesofourbeinghavebeenpushedforward”(Csikszentmihalyi,1990,p.64).

As a result, “after an enjoyable eventwe know thatwe have changed, that our self has grown: in somerespect,wehavebecomemore complexasa resultof it” (Csikszentmihalyi,1990,p.46). Similar thingshavebeensaidbywritersHarukiMurakami(Murakami,2010)andMichaelEnde(Ende2009)abouttheircreativeprocesses,andthefollowingpassagefromJiroKawakitaiscloselyrelatedaswell.

Acreativeactinvolvesthecreationofthe“object”itself,butalsogenerateschangewithintheindividualwhoisengaginginthecreation.Inotherwords,the“‘subject”isalsobeingcreated.Acreationthatisdoneone-sidedlyisnottrulyacreativeact.Themorecreativetheactis,themoreremarkablethechangewithinthesubjectwillbe”(Kawakita,2010)

Therefore, when one engages in activities and enters a state of flow, they are able to feel

enjoymentintheprocessitself,whichleadstothefeelingofjoyintheirlives.Inthissense,beinginastateofflowishighlyappealing,butthisisnotsomethingthateveryone

can easily accomplish. According to Csikszentmihalyi, “most people need some inducement toparticipateinflowactivities,atleastatthebeginning,beforetheylearntobesensitivetointrinsicrewards” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975, p.14). This is because “enjoyment happens only as a result ofunusualinvestmentsofattention”(Csikszentmihalyi,1990,p.46).

Manyofthethingswefindinterestingarenotsobynature,butbecausewetookthetroubleofpayingattentiontothem.Untilonestartstocollectthem,insectsandmineralsarenotveryappealing.Noraremostpeopleuntilwefindoutabouttheirlivesandthoughts.Runningmarathonsorclimbingmountains,thegameofbridgeorRacine’sdramasareratherboringexcepttothosewhohaveinvestedenoughattentiontorealizetheirintricatecomplexity.(Csikszentmihalyi,1997,p.128)

Hence,wehavenotfoundtheenjoymentofeveryactivitythatwetakepartin.Weenjoycertainactivitiesthatwefindenjoymentin,whilewedonotformanyotheractivitiesthroughoutourlives.

Without enjoyment life canbe endured, and it can evenbepleasant. But it canbe so onlyprecariously, depending on luck and the cooperation of the external environment. To gainpersonal control over thequality of experience, however, oneneeds to learnhow tobuildenjoymentintowhathappensdayin,dayout.(Csikszentmihalyi,1990,p.48)

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ThisisexactlywheretheFunLanguagecomesintoplay.Csikszentmihalyisaysthateven“Mowingthelawnorwaitinginadentist’sofficecanbecomeenjoyableprovidedonerestructurestheactivitybyprovidinggoals,rules,andtheotherelementsofenjoymenttobereviewedbelow”(Csikszentmihalyi,1990,p.51).Such“elementsofenjoyment”arewhateachfuninaFunLanguagedescribes.BydefiningvariousFun(elementsofenjoyment)invariousfields,wehavemorepotentialofenjoyingmanyactivitiesinourlives.Csikszentmihalyiproposesanapproachtopracticegettingintothestateofflowinwhatfollows.

How can you getmore enjoyment from brushing your teeth? Taking a shower? Dressing?Eatingbreakfast?Gettingtowork?Takethesimplestoftheseroutinesandexperimentwithengineering its flow potential. … If you take this question seriously and try to answer bytestingvarious alternatives, youwill be surprised athowmuch funbrushing teeth canbe.(Csikszentmihalyi,1996,p.350)

WhileCsikszentmihalyisuggeststakingthisapproachtopracticediscoveringtheenjoymentineverydaylife,

theFunLanguagetakesamoredirectapproach.Inotherwords,tocollectvariouselementsofenjoymentfromvariouspeopleandorganizethemintoalanguagethatcanbeshared.Ofcourse,notallFunwillbeagreeablebyeveryone, but there should be a few out of each collection that readers will find interesting and worthpracticing.When one learns about a new Fun in a domain that they are not familiarwith, it can become asignificanthint that allows them to findenjoyment in that activity. Furthermore,whenone finds anoverlapwith what they already practice and what is written in a Fun Language, it will be easier for them tocommunicateaboutthatconceptwithotherpeopleandtofindpeoplewithcommoninterests.Inthisway,asonetakesinmoreandmoreelementsofenjoymentusingaFunLanguage,thatpersonwillgrowtofindtheactivitymoreappealingandmotivating.Thatinitselfisremarkable,butanadditionaleffectthatcanbe expected is that using a Fun Language in one domain leads the reader to enjoy other activities as well.Therefore,FunLanguageisatoolthatenablespeopletogainenjoymentfromtheactivityitself,whichmakesitmorelikelythathe/shewillcontinueengaginginthatactivity.

Afteryouhavepracticedimprovingthequalityofexperienceinafeweverydayactivities,youmightfeelreadytotacklesomethingmoredifficult—suchasahobbyoranewinterest.Eventuallyyouwillmasterthemostimportantskillofall,themetaskillthatconsistsinbeingabletoturnanyactivityintoanoccasionofflow.Iftheautotelicmetaskillisdevelopedenough,youshouldbeabletoenjoyanynewchallengeandbeonthewaytotheself-sustainingchainreactionofcreativity.(Csikszentmihalyi,1996,p.350)

Hence, developing the ability to enjoy a daily life activity leads to a more enjoyable, fulfilling life.Csikszentmihalyi adds, “to control attention means to control experience, and therefore the quality of life”(Csikszentmihalyi,1997,p.128).AFunLanguage,therefore,isamediatomakeacertainactivityanenjoyableexperienceandtoenhancepeople’squalityoflife.

5. CONCLUSION

ThispaperproposedtheconceptoftheFunLanguageandpresentedthreeexamples.ThepurposeandaimoftheFunLanguagewasdiscussed,usingtheoriesbyCsikszentmihalyi.Whetherthe“elementsofenjoyment”discussedinthispaperreallyhasaneffectonmotivationremainsaquestion.Theauthorsofthispaperalongwith the people around them have experienced a definite change in their mindset, but the question ofeffectivenessissomethingtobetestedinfuturestudies.

Toconcludethispaper,letustalkaboutanepisodefromLinusTorvaldsonceagain.Torvaldsdescribeshischildhood, longbeforehebegancreating theLinux in the following: “Itprobablywon’t surpriseanyone thatsomeofmyearliest andhappiestmemories involveplayingwithmygrandfather’soldelectronic calculator”(Torvalds&Diamond, 2001, p.6). Influenced by his grandfatherwhowas a professor of statistics, Torvaldsenjoyedcalculationfromayoungage.

Irememberhavingtonsoffuncalculatingthesineofvariousrandomnumbers.NotbecauseIactually caredall thatmuch for theanswer (afterall,notmanypeopledo),butbecause thiswaslongtimeago,andcalculatorsdidn’tjustgiveyoutheanswer.Theycalculatedit.Andthey

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blinkedalotwhiledoingso,mainlyinordertogiveyousomefeedbackthat“Yes,I’mstillalive,and it takesme ten seconds to do show howmuchwork I do.” Thatwas fascinating.Muchmore exciting than a modern calculator that won’t even break into a sweat when doingsomethingassimpleascalculatingaplainsineofanumber.Withthoseearlydevicesyouknewthatwhattheydidwashard.Theymadeitveryclearindeed.(Torvalds&Diamond,2001,p.6)

Hisfascinationforcomputersbeganwithhisfascinationoverthesimplefactthat“theyblinkedalotwhile

doingso.”Helaterdevelopedpassionforprogrammingbyrealizingthatitislikecreatingyourownworld,andeventuallybroughtabouta significantworldwidemovement.What this example showsus is that a senseof“fun,”evenifseeminglyinsignificant,canbeastartingpointthattriggerssomethingsignificant.

Torvaldsstatesthatwhatweareheadedtowardis“Pasttheinformationsociety,theentertainmentsociety”(Torvalds&Diamond,2001,p.246).That transformation is fueledby the threedriving factors thatmotivatepeople:first“survival,”second“socialrelations,”andthird“entertainment.”ThebookinwhichhereflectsonhislifeisentitledJustForFun;whatafittingtitle,indeed,torepresentaworldwhere“entertainment”iswealthinitself.

JustForFun—ItissimplythroughhavingFunthatwedevelopEnjoyment,andfurthermore,Joyinourlives.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Fun Language for Cooking mentioned in this paper was originally created in a collaborative research between Iba Laboratory, Keio University, and Cookpad, Inc. We thank Shiori Shibata as a member of our project and Takuji Ikeda and Ryo Katsuma as our research partners, as well as Akimitsu Sano for giving us the opportunity to conduct this collaborative research. We would also like to thank Konomi Munakata for drawing wonderfully funny illustrations for fun words and all interviewees for sharing their “seeds of fun” for this project. Lastly, we thank our shepherd Christian Kohls, the writers’ workshop moderator Jenny Quillien, and all participants: Meryem Dural, Aimi Burgoyne, Joao Dias, Tatsuaki Kanai, HiromitsuU Fujiwara, Miho Tsutui, and Mary Tedeschi.

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