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trolling, playing around, sarcasm, etc... are all methods of using "play" to deal with ???. similar to using white noise for sleep or golf ball dimples for father shots. the additional "noise" *aids* in boosting the signal.

competition is a specific kind of play that involves measurement and table stakes like status. it's the most egregious form of mis-use of play as it elevates the noise into signal even though at high amounts the noise just becomes noise instead of boosting the signal.

e.g. ingraining bad habits so you can beat other beginners who are at hour 100 of the 10,000 hour journey. this isn't "bad" since not every hobby needs to have 10,000 hr mastery as an end goal but it means that anger at being stuck is a red flag

the opposite is active non-competition. e.g. a circlejerk where everyone is right even though they may be saying completely opposite things. it's like if i decided to believe in flat-earth and round-earth simultaneously to double the amount of my earth knowledge.

the former trap is to mistake noise for signal. the latter trap is to remove the distinction between signal and noise.

though in theory, all noise is some kind of signal. noise becomes signal only when filtered through the lens of a hierarchy of value. every hierarchy of value is thus a procrustean bed in some sense.

"signal" then has an element of "seriousness" while "noise" has an element of "play". (they are synonymous with order/chaos)