Purpose <p>I reflect on my childhood experiences in the Barany Lab and connect them to several findings and themes from my subsequent career researching the history and culture of science and mathematics.</p> Methods <p>Emphasizing the role of language and of written and unwritten aspects of science, together with their playful and communal characteristics, I connect George Barany’s scientific perspectives to insights from my own fields of study.</p> Results <p>These insights include considerations of the formative role of wordplay, the multiple meanings of mathematical texts and practices, the role of blackboards in science, and misperceptions of the Fields Medal in mathematics.</p> Conclusion <p>Focusing on written and unwritten play and imagination humanizes science and the communities that pursue it.</p>