Ludic Science

At present, research projects are increasingly or even exclusively funded or awarded prizes based on the aspect of concrete applicability. However, our history teaches us that, since ancient times, we humans have stumbled across fundamental new findings in a purposeless and almost playful way out of our inherent curiosity. Intention is a decisive criterion for me here: if the "application" is vanity or the pursuit of a kind of immortality, freedom from purpose is ruled out. This is often the basis for developments in imaging procedures. I would also include striving in sports, because the gain and the activity itself are difficult to separate. Research endeavours with a purposeless attitude are here called "ludic" (from the Latin ludus, the game), and are described in this book using various examples from the past. Some of these, such as the "oscillating" Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, have not yet found application. Others, such as capacitors, are so fundamental that it is impossible to imagine technology without them. In his book "Homo Ludens" (1938), the Dutch art historian Johan Huizinga examines the role of play as a creative source in many areas of law, science, philosophy and art. Huizinga defines "Play" as "an action or occupation voluntarily adopted and accompanied by a feeling of excitement and pleasure and an awareness of being different from ordinary life." According to Huizinga, play is the origin of all innovations, "the place of origin of all great cultural formations". I agree with him on this, and also that "culture is only initially played". I quote Huizinga further: "In its games, the community expresses its interpretation of life and the world... This is not to be understood as meaning that play turns into culture, but rather that culture in its original phases has something playful about it, indeed that it is initially performed in the forms and mood of a game". For Huizinga, dance, poetry and abstract art are examples of games that do not transform into technology, i. e. exceptions. This book is intended as a supplement to Huizinga's thoughts, which are philosophical, i. e. humanistic, while the following describes scientific examples from history. For almost all examples, as Huizinga emphasized, only play made the emergence of innovations possible. This book shows that these innovations later mostly found their way into technology. In this context, an annual prize is to be awarded as part of a foundation set up by the author of this book. In the first instance, natural scientists of any age, education or nationality may apply. The work submitted should have no obvious technical or commercial application. From two equally good applications, the one that has been produced with the least financial and technical effort will be selected. The work should have been carried out in standard research institutions, such as universities and Max Planck Institutes, or at home. Information for application to the prize can be found in www.gdch.de/mariomarkus. I would like to thank Dr. Malte Schmick, (Max Planck Institute, Dortmund), Rainer Maria Gassen, as well as Dr. Ian Copestake for their careful factual corrections. For preparing the English manuscript and the prepress work I would like to thank the publisher Dr. Friedrich Pfeil and his coworker Dr. Maximilian Scheungrab.