When you see someone or something and describe it as “cool”, this usually is a gut reaction and is based more on instinct than on thought or analysis. Naming something “cool” is an instinctive reaction and can be quite hard to articulate why or how something is cool.

Even though “being cool” has a lot of advantages, such as prestige, status and more, people don’t actually have a sense of what it means to be cool. Not consciously at least…

 

So, what are the mechanics of being cool?

 

 

How is something cool?

Before we dig into what actually makes something cool, we will look at what researchers have established to be the four characteristics of coolness:

It is cultural. In other words, something that is cool in Japan might not necessarily be cool in Brazil. In the same spirit, something that is cool for a certain age group might not be cool for another, despite the fact that everyone has the same definition of cool, to which we will get later.

It is relative. Something is usually cool in a certain context. Just like in the case of the first feature, coolness is not necessarily an inherent quality. For example, if you look at two jackets, one might be cooler than the other, but if you compare the coolest one with a jacket from another store, the third one might be the coolest.

It is a positive thing. While many characteristics are polarized, meaning that people describe characteristics differently as positive or negative (for example, in some groups being outgoing and highly engaging is seen as a positive and in others it is seen as annoying), coolness is categorized by pretty much every group as a positive trait.

It diverges from the norm. For something to be cool, it must be in one way or the other unconventional. The degree of unconventionality varies among groups. Maybe a better word than unconventional in this case would be original or to have an edge to it. In other words, something that not everybody else is doing.

 

 

Why is something cool?

With all this being said, it is clear that coolness has a lot to do with being different. The big question however is “like, how?”

Coolness is basically being above the situation. That should not be taken as being superficial though. Being cool is all about being confident and being “above the situation”, which means, again, not being careless and superficial, but in control. And that is what coolness is all about: it’s about being confident and not being constantly overwhelmed. In short, someone who is cool is someone who can handle it. When it comes to things, cool stuff are things that make a great job with great ease. They’re cool.

 

 

Coolness and culture

Coolness, as a cultural concept, has its roots in the Italian “sprezzatura”, which means “studied nonchalance”. In other words, in the 1500s in Italy, when the concept first appeared, it was a sign of greatness not to be impressed by (bad) circumstances. Of course, that concept has evolved over time and for many men today it means being at ease, even though you are self-aware.

According to some people, modern coolness is derived from slavery and other similar situations, where people knew that in order to survive they had to keep their rebellion and thoughts to themselves. In a way, it was strange way of obeying.

 

The word “cool”, however, became popular during the 1940s. It first appeared in bohemian culture, especially in night clubs where jazz was played and poetry was read. Back then, there was also a lot of smoking going on, so in order to bring back freshness to the atmosphere, people used to open windows, thus leaving the cool air of the night come in. The man responsible for the association between the cool air and the attitude was saxophonist Lester Young, who is also responsible for coining the word “bread” with the meaning of “money”.

 

 

Conclusion

As you can see, coolness is something that is both cultural and natural, it is what differentiates people from one another and, fortunately, one can work on his coolness. When it comes to objects, things that are compelling without trying too hard can be described as “cool”.

The cool thing about coolness is that you can practice it too. Sometimes, an inside-outside approach works better, meaning that you set up your mind to being cool and, once you see it, everyone else will; and at other times, an outside-inside approach works better: you dress cool, you get a cool haircut and wear cool accessories and, over time, this will change your attitude about things as well. At other times, both techniques combined make for the best way to go.

 

Coolness should not be seen as a high school characteristic: while in adolescence it’s important to be cool for the sake of others, at a mature age one should be cool for himself.

 

 

Fraquoh and Franchomme

 

 

 

 

 

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