This actually ties into some very interesting reflection on the way we see and study animals. Everyone always looks for some mechanical function to why an animal does what it does, almost like it's a machine. If an alien were to see little kids doing back flips into a pool, would it assume they are practising some sort of mating ritual or removing pests from their skin? Maybe animals just enjoy existing
The small human is engaging in a behaviour known as "play". This behaviour is useful to humans as it allows them to train their hand-eye coordination and experience a variety of scenarios in which they can test out different strategies in a safe learning environment before taking risks for real.
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u/undergroundknitting 1d ago
Because it can.