Why do the most profound learning experiences often feel like getting lost in a good game?

In this episode, Brian sits down with Christopher Icks, a philosopher, applied linguist, and experiential learning designer, to explore why "play" isn't just for kids—it’s a vital engine for deep, transformative learning. From his work at the University of Oregon's CASTLES to his stewardship of Eugene’s eclectic Resonance Building, Christopher reveals how we can design spaces and experiences that foster genuine connection, wayfinding, and what he calls "vital surplus."

They dive into the tension between rigid institutional metrics and the messy, beautiful reality of how we actually learn. Get ready to question the classroom circle, embrace a little vertigo, and discover why a "Bring Your Own Puppet Party" might just be the future of professional development.

• 🏛️ The Resonance Building: A deep dive into this unique hybrid space (healing arts + community workshops) and its three pillars: Somatic Attunement, Mind-Body Integration, and Co-creation. How play became the "engine" that keeps the space open and alive.
• 🔄 Theory vs. Practice: The challenge of translating post-structuralist ideas (Deleuze, Guattari) and affect-oriented pragmatics into projects that are legible to grant committees and institutions stuck in conventional metrics.
• 🧭 Cartesian Subjectivity & The Grid: Christopher explains how Descartes' grid created a "view from nowhere" that still shapes our institutions, identities, and how we measure learning—often to our detriment.
• 🌀 The Power of Vertigo: Referencing Roger Caillois, they discuss vertigo as a critical form of play that disrupts our "compulsive centering" and opens us up to new possibilities.
• 📚 Bateson's Levels of Learning (0–3): A brilliant breakdown using examples from throwing a rock to skeet shooting, illustrating why trying to create systemic change (Level III) using Level I metrics (like KPIs) creates double binds and pathological gaming of the system.
• 🎭 Liberating Structures & Mixed Reality: Christopher shares his work on 'Escape from Bia Oxia,' an XR experience used for Fulbright orientations that teaches cultural pragmatics through an escape-room format.
• 💩 Crass Metaphors & Creativity: A discussion on the role of "excrement" and "nutriment" in language and creation, drawing from philosophical and artistic traditions like Fluxus and John Cage.

"Play repeatedly emerges as the 'engine' that keeps spaces open and resists closure or 'capture.'"

What's a time you felt completely "lost" in a learning experience—and came out the other side transformed? Tell us in the comments!

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Guest: Christopher Daradics

• Work & Projects:
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/daradic
• The Resonance Building: https://resonancebuilding.com/about-1
• Mixed Reality & Liberating Structures (EUGLSS): https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/23997277?source_impression_id=p3_1771428102_P3jjH8PWJ3kTrbxZ

- https://www.instagram.com/swagadics/?hl=en

Host: Brian Tierney

• www.somaticdoctor.com

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HASHTAGS

#Pedagogy #LearningTheory #MixedReality #Play #Innovation #ChristopherIcks #ResonanceBuilding #XR #Education #Philosophy #Deleuze #GregoryBateson #Wayfinding #Podcast #HigherEd #ExperientialLearning #EugeneOregon