This website called “Wordnik”, is a place where people can make a list of words that has the similar meaning or just related to that particular word. Then the others can add more words on the same list or just give comments on those words. Basically, it is a place for people to share their own opinions on a particular word by providing examples, own definitions, pronunciations, comments, photos from Flickr, topic related from Twitter, and etymologies.
Looking down on the list of “The History of Cool”, it is obvious that the word “cool” is not simply just a word that defines it all. Everybody views it differently, and uses it for different meanings. It could mean “a beauty”, and some use it to mean “brutal”. It turned out that the word “cool” doesn’t seem to have a specific meaning that people can define like the “one”. I draw the conclusion that often times these adjectives are very subjective. Nobody can truly know what it means when others use it to comment on them, but all they know is either something that is good/bad. For example, the word “beautiful” could mean “cool” also, although nobody clearly know the meaning of it, we categorize it in our mind that it must be something “positive/good”. In the other hand, if people say “ugly”, we automatically know is something “bad”. So this list really reflects on how a word can mean so many things as time goes by, and how people define it as a category, not by the word itself.
“The History of Cool” Parker Smith. Wordnik.com. Wordnik, 2009. Web. 8 Dec 2009.
“The Johns Hopkins News-Letter” is an independent student newspaper of the Johns Hopkins University, and it has been published since 1896. Basically it is a place where people posted articles about any topics from sport, science, news, art to entertainment, and then everybody can comment on it. Of course, when I said people, I mean, people from this university. The article that I am reading is called “Dealing with the Consequence of being Cool” by Emma Brodie, it defines what cool is in her perspective, and she offers some tip to deal with competitions, in other words, trying too hard to be cool.
Right in the beginning of the article, she proposes the idea of cool is like a “game”, and you have “to be on top while acting as if it takes as little effort as possible”. Although she stated that cool is “an elusive term”, she draws the conclusion that everybody is “competitive”, and even if you are trying to avoid hanging out with the “competitive ones”, it reflects that you are secretly competitive inside of yourself. So, with that being said, she is saying that everybody is trying hard to be cool, and it is human nature, we are all competitive in many ways. But then she talks about how no matter how hard you try, “you can never win”. The solution to this is to “bringing it back to the cavemen”, accept the fact that “we’re genetically programmed to be competitive: competitiveness isn't something you can ignore and it's not something that's going to go away”. Then from there, don’t take anybody more serious than yourself, love yourself more. In my opinion, not only the author is contradicting herself by saying we are all cool, but actually nobody is. She is telling the others to be true to themselves, while they are actually lying to themselves that the only way to win the competition is to tell yourself that you are the only one who is cool.
“Dealing with the Consequences of being Cool” Emma Brodie. jhunewsletter.com. The John Hopkins News-Letter. 24 Sept 2009. Web. 8 Dec 2009.
This blog post is by a member of the Fast Company, who wrote about “cool” and his own definition of what “coolness” is all about. What is unusual is that only members are allowed to comment, which is not what I normally see. But overall, I think the website is pretty eye-catching, and it focuses on technology, design, ethonomics, leadership, and magazine/newsletters.
I find this article pretty amazing because this person actually creates a formula for coolness, and he claimed that he is cooler than lots of people. While claiming that, he also notices and aware of what the readers will say about him. Then he explains his definition of cool, which is all about your own “perception of the world”. He meant, “Our own little worlds”, and there are no one who really decides what cool is. Therefore, who are just individuals in this world and cool is all about “what you think it is”. In other words, the competition does not even exist. In my own opinion based on what this person wrote, I think he did make a good argument, and I mostly agreed with what he said. But is cool really just about “how you perceive your world”? I highly doubt about his hypothesis although he does make a good point.
“You’re not cool – I am. What is cool & finding the cool factor”. Doyle Buehler. Fastcompany.com. The Fast Company. 24 Jul 2008. Web. 9 Dec 2009.
This article is very short and is also from the Fast Company, called “The Nine Coolest Subway Stations in the World”. I think this article clearly defines “cool” as better than the others, putting others down in a competition of certain things. But one thing that I disagree with this article was that the subway in United States wasn’t as bad as they describes. Although what is more creative, and new is usually seem as the cooler ones, I think the subway in the U.S. still has its own taste in it. Of course, it is not the best, and is old and loud. But I think its design still has its typical recognition in it that people can easily know where it is from. If being creative and artistic about architecture is consider “cool” in this case, why aren’t the ones in New York is “cool” also?
“The Nine Coolest Subway Stations in the World”. Cliff Kuang. Fastcompany.com. The Fast Company. 24 Jul 2008. Web. 9 Dec 2009.
The song is from the album called "The Best of Sweetbox 1995-2005" by Sweetbox. I don't exactly know who they are, but I think the song gives a pretty different perspective of cool.
It is actually the first time I listen to this song called “Life is Cool” by the Sweetbox. Anyway, I think the definition of cool from this song is to appreciate life, and look at life from a positive side instead of complaining about the bad. I like the lyrics a lot, especially the lines “we’re all so busy tryin’ to get ahead…never satisfied, the grass is greener on the other side”. I think it basically sums up what “cool” is all about, to reach for the better, and never satisfied with what we already have. I personally agree with what this song mostly said, and I think it did provide a different perspective of what “cool” is all about.
“Life is Cool”. Sweetbox. Lyricsdownload.com. Lyrics Download. Web. 9 Dec 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment