On the Educational Potential of Humor, Science Fiction, and Game

Abstract

The modern cultural situation contributes to the rethinking of many areas of human activity that once seemed basic. This is how the image of education which in European culture is traditionally associated with the discipline of mind and will and therefore with extreme seriousness has been changing dramatically. The possibility of such an approach was closely related to the value of knowledge which was once unconditional. However, modern media sources which made knowledge accessible and the patterns of obtaining it ordinary have removed the educational sphere from its common position. Today we see how education is reforming its own aims and objectives and what new methods it attracts in order to keep being an integral part of the personality development in culture. In this article, we will consider one of the aspects of the transformation of education, specifically, the search for new motives for learning. Our goal will be to characterize the educational potential of mechanics drawn from areas such as humor, fiction, and play. All the three phenomena are traditionally perceived rather as part of an entertaining, “not serious” sphere of human activity. We will try to prove their effectiveness in relation to new challenges in the educational area that are generated by the era of new media technologies.