In his Aims of Education address to new University of Chicago undergraduate students, Prof. Patrick Jagoda posed a question that he often asks in his courses.
“Is life a game?” asked the scholar of media theory, game studies, and design on Thursday at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. “You can take this question either as literal or figurative, structural or provocative, as you prefer.
“But I want you to contemplate, complicate and answer it for yourselves.”
Jagoda used various references to games and "play" to explain his views on the purposes and aims of liberal education.
He began by telling the story of one of his unconventional role models—the grasshopper from Aesop’s fable, The Ants & The Grasshopper. In the original story, the starving grasshopper begs for food from the ants who had spent their summer working and storing food for winter. The ants refuse, citing: “There is a time for work and a time for play.” While traditionally seen as silly and lazy, Jagoda highlighted philosopher Bernard Suit’s version where the grasshopper recounts a dream before dying.
In this dream, everyone—from carpenters to politicians—are engaged in playing elaborate games. The ants argue that work is necessary for play but “the grasshopper isn’t interested in being reasonable; it holds onto the principle of a life devoted entirely to play,” Jagoda said.
He noted that other scholars have likened much of life to a game—from social scientists to economists. He discussed how games have dominated popular culture through video games like Grand Theft Auto and films like The Hunger Games. Jagoda also mentioned how games have been central in AI development since AI programs defeated world-champion chess and Go players.
Games offer space for collaboration, risk-taking, and “safe failure”—and Jagoda encouraged students to embrace these during their time at UChicago.
“I hope there are moments that learning surprises, even confounds you,” Jagoda said. “I hope this leads to frequent moments at which you don’t understand yourself anymore. To put this even more forcefully: "I hope you fail early and often.”
However, he added that failure should come in ways where students can learn and recover while solving global problems such as climate change or cybersecurity failures.
Part of that trial-and-error process comes with not just games but play.
“To be clear: I enjoy games, but I cannot live without play,” Jagoda said. “.... Play is not necessarily childish. At its best, it makes you childlike...play is another word for experimentation...another word for learning."
The son of Polish immigrants who spent early years in Austria and Australia before studying in the United States didn’t initially see value in liberal arts education. Starting as a philosophy and literature double major before earning a Ph.D., he now designs games with professionals across fields including medicine and climate science. He even created a video game exploring topics like free expression for new UChicago students.
His advice? Start designing your “game of education” soon—and strive to be like the grasshopper.
“Use your passions...to make the world better,” he said. “Share your goals with your new friends...draw from the University as resources...Enjoy your shared agency, and play together.”