ABSTRACT
There is no structure which, once discovered, cannot be represented by a model of some kind which shows its mode of being. From galaxies to atoms and genes, from soil erosion and gas formation to the workings of the human brain, a symbolic representation can be made that approximates to these processes in action. Before us on the workbench, aspects of astronomy, chemistry, physics, biology, geography can be understood in metaphor or simulation and their mysteries retreat while their marvels remain. Human processes are no exception. However multiple and open-ended are the choices and pressures, the only way to fulfil the needs of our inner selves is through interaction with other people; each society embodies these in different forms of cooperation and social agreement. To understand these patterns in action we need not only to have them explained but to experience them in rehearsal. The urgency and pleasureableness of children's dramatic games have their pulse from the need to come to terms with experiences, fantasies and feelings that are still bewildering and only understood in part, and to prepare for what is known to be coming. As adults we rehearse, in the theatre of our minds if not in fact, the interview or meeting we are about to attend, the dispute we anticipate, the party we are going to. In more concrete terms, we go over the wedding ceremony the night before, market our soap powders in country mansions on weekend training schemes, groom hostesses, waiters and politicians, train mechanics, surgeons, chefs and firemen all in mock-ups of the real thing. Who can deny the world's a stage?
