Concept
Fun as pattern absorption
From game design, and distinct from challenge-skill balance rather than duplicating it: balance says where the sweet spot sits, absorption says what the pleasure signals — that a pattern is going in. Gives the practice a prediction: if it has stopped feeling like anything, either it has been absorbed and a harder one is due, or it was never teaching a pattern.
Where it appears
Treated in
- Part Four — The Ground UnderneathFlow, Reward, and Why Practice WorksWhy something this simple produces a felt sense of meaning: challenge-skill balance, hedonic adaptation, and reward that doesn't degrade.