Neuroscientists say that our brains search for order to protect us from chaos.

Playful humans also pursue rewarding surprises.

For the alert, playful mind, harnessing free energy is the gateway to creativity.

If you had to name a song that swiftly calls to mind a toy, what would it be?

Some might nominate the bouncy bubblegum single, “I’m a Barbie Girl.” (“Life in plastic / It’s fantastic!”) Farther back, the post-war generation will remember Elvis Presley’s coy R and B dance classic, “Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear.” (“Cuddle me real tight….”) Or you might retrieve the creepy stuffed-toys-coming-alive tune “Teddy Bear’s Picnic.” (“If you go down in the woods today / You’re sure of a big surprise…”) La la, la la, la lalla la la…

But hands down, the melody and rhythm that most closely remind us of a classic plaything and the surprises that play promises? Must be the punctuated song “Pop Goes the Weasel.”

Wind the crank. The melody builds. “All around the cobbler’s bench / The monkey chased the weasel / The monkey thought ‘twas all in fun…” Tension gathers in both the coiled steel and the listeners’ emotion. Then, abruptly, the Jack-in-the-Box figure springs free. “POP goes the weasel!” Delighting in keen expectation and the surprise that follows, the 3-year-old, wound-up with edgy potential energy, will demand, “Again!” And again.

It seems like a paradox, but play thrives on pleasurable surprise even when it’s predictable.

The Challenge From Neuroscience

Cutting-edge neuroscience offers a fascinating twist and a challenge that bears some noodling. Current models of perception posit that our minds are not passive video-cameras that take in the unfolding scene, moment-to-micromoment.

Instead, our brains act more like “prediction........

© Psychology Today