What Does It Mean to Be Cool, According to a Philosopher
At some point in your life, you probably said that someone was either cool or sucked. I know there is. But what does this mean in a philosophical sense? One philosopher thinks it’s all about open-mindedness in social situations.
How can you define something as subjective as cool or crap? Nick Riggle is a former professional figure skater with a Ph.D. in philosophy from New York University, thinks he has the answer in his new book, Being Cool: A Unified Theory of Not Sucking . He explains his theory to Gareth Cook of Scientific American :
… “cool” is often used in a special social sense to talk about people and actions that bring people together in a certain way … being cool is good at creating “social opportunities” – moments of mutual gratitude between people when they go beyond their own norms and routines, expressing their individuality in such a way that others express theirs.
Basically, you are great when you are comfortable with being yourself, and you make others feel comfortable doing the same. It’s all about allowing people to be who they want to be, and not making it too important in social situations. It makes sense, but then what does “suck” mean:
Someone sucks when they give up social discovery for no good reason.
Riggle notes that sucking is the same as being cocky, boastful, or perhaps best said, a bastard. Basically, sucking is thinking you’re too cool for school. You close the world to your individuality, while blocking the possibility of expressing the individuality of others.
Riggle gives an example of a professional basketball game in which a song is played and people are displayed on a large screen. Being cool means taking part and singing along when it’s your turn on screen – perhaps even dancingor playing a music video . To suck means to sit and refuse to participate because you “don’t think it’s cool” or you don’t want to look stupid. So sing it, people. You can be cool.