Do You Think You're Clever? Read Online Free
the idea of ironic, apparently effortlessly superior detachment fromthe mainstream. Aristotle identified it in his
Nicomachean Ethics
. The Italian Renaissance style guru Baldassare Castiglione in his guide for courtiers talked about
sprezzatura
– an aristocratic nonchalance and distance which disguises all traces of effort, perfectly characterised in Leonardo da Vinci’s
Mona Lisa
. And at the bottom of the heap there have always been those celebrated for their ironic and rebellious wit in dealing with their oppressed status.
But what we call ‘cool’ today probably comes originally from the black jazz scene of the American 1930s and 40s, where windows in smoke-choked clubs were left open on even the coldest nights, leading to the term ‘cool jazz’ for the seductive style of music played there. The languid detachment of jazz ‘cool’, though, was completely transformed by the rebellious rise of hip-hop and rap culture. That turned cool into something so aggressive and powerful – not just style but attitude – that it spread far beyond its black roots into youth culture as a whole.
That attitude of cool was an essential way for young black men, pushed to the fringes of society, to give themselves some pride and self-respect. But as it has spread wider, the nature of cool has changed. In one direction, it has just become an ordinary, harmless, friendly word of affirmation and praise, but in another it has acquired a far more divisive image. It has become a badge for the cool inside crowd among the young (and the would-be young) – those in the know, informed, stylish, fashionable,dismissive – that separates them from the non-cool outsiders – ill-informed, lacking in style, the sheeplike ‘losers’. It’s often a means, now, of bullying psychologically (and sometimes physically) those who don’t fit in. And more depressing still, it’s become a means for advertisers to create and exploit aspirational markets. What an irony that the once rebellious nature of ‘cool’ is often now linked with expensive, exclusive style affordable only to the ultra-rich!
It’s this oppressive, aggressive and exclusive side to cool that makes me declare ardently, no I’m not cool. I rebel against the notion of a standard or style or attitude that oppresses those who don’t fit in – that excludes and diminishes the vulnerable, the shy, the uninformed and the unconfident. I rebel, too, against the dominance of a set of values which seems so geared towards the superficial and ephemeral. And I rebel against the idea of being cool if it means being detached, distant, uninvolved, dismissive, unresponsive, lacking in emotional honesty – in fact, lacking in all the things that make the world a happier, more sympathetic place.
Ultimately, though, I suspect that whatever I care to think about it, many others wouldn’t hesitate to confirm that I’m not remotely cool in any way! I possess none of the attributes that would make me cool, I guess, such as a sense of style, insider knowledge of trends, nonchalance, calm assertiveness and sexual swagger. Yet nor can I say I’m driven by fiery hot-blooded Latin passion. So perhaps I would have to say I’m not cool but tepid …
If there was an omnipotent god, would he be able to create a stone that he couldn’t lift?
(Classics, Oxford)
This is an ancient question asked by theologists and philosophers to throw into doubt assumptions about God. It’s called the stone paradox. It’s intended to suggest that God cannot logically be all-powerful – and so probably doesn’t exist. The argument goes that either God can create a stone which he cannot lift, or he can’t. If he can create this stone, then he can’t move the stone, in which case he’s not omnipotent. If he can’t create the stone, then he can’t be omnipotent either because there’s something he can’t do. Amazingly, theologists and philosophers have been debating this question for hundreds of years, trying
Nicomachean Ethics
. The Italian Renaissance style guru Baldassare Castiglione in his guide for courtiers talked about
sprezzatura
– an aristocratic nonchalance and distance which disguises all traces of effort, perfectly characterised in Leonardo da Vinci’s
Mona Lisa
. And at the bottom of the heap there have always been those celebrated for their ironic and rebellious wit in dealing with their oppressed status.
But what we call ‘cool’ today probably comes originally from the black jazz scene of the American 1930s and 40s, where windows in smoke-choked clubs were left open on even the coldest nights, leading to the term ‘cool jazz’ for the seductive style of music played there. The languid detachment of jazz ‘cool’, though, was completely transformed by the rebellious rise of hip-hop and rap culture. That turned cool into something so aggressive and powerful – not just style but attitude – that it spread far beyond its black roots into youth culture as a whole.
That attitude of cool was an essential way for young black men, pushed to the fringes of society, to give themselves some pride and self-respect. But as it has spread wider, the nature of cool has changed. In one direction, it has just become an ordinary, harmless, friendly word of affirmation and praise, but in another it has acquired a far more divisive image. It has become a badge for the cool inside crowd among the young (and the would-be young) – those in the know, informed, stylish, fashionable,dismissive – that separates them from the non-cool outsiders – ill-informed, lacking in style, the sheeplike ‘losers’. It’s often a means, now, of bullying psychologically (and sometimes physically) those who don’t fit in. And more depressing still, it’s become a means for advertisers to create and exploit aspirational markets. What an irony that the once rebellious nature of ‘cool’ is often now linked with expensive, exclusive style affordable only to the ultra-rich!
It’s this oppressive, aggressive and exclusive side to cool that makes me declare ardently, no I’m not cool. I rebel against the notion of a standard or style or attitude that oppresses those who don’t fit in – that excludes and diminishes the vulnerable, the shy, the uninformed and the unconfident. I rebel, too, against the dominance of a set of values which seems so geared towards the superficial and ephemeral. And I rebel against the idea of being cool if it means being detached, distant, uninvolved, dismissive, unresponsive, lacking in emotional honesty – in fact, lacking in all the things that make the world a happier, more sympathetic place.
Ultimately, though, I suspect that whatever I care to think about it, many others wouldn’t hesitate to confirm that I’m not remotely cool in any way! I possess none of the attributes that would make me cool, I guess, such as a sense of style, insider knowledge of trends, nonchalance, calm assertiveness and sexual swagger. Yet nor can I say I’m driven by fiery hot-blooded Latin passion. So perhaps I would have to say I’m not cool but tepid …
If there was an omnipotent god, would he be able to create a stone that he couldn’t lift?
(Classics, Oxford)
This is an ancient question asked by theologists and philosophers to throw into doubt assumptions about God. It’s called the stone paradox. It’s intended to suggest that God cannot logically be all-powerful – and so probably doesn’t exist. The argument goes that either God can create a stone which he cannot lift, or he can’t. If he can create this stone, then he can’t move the stone, in which case he’s not omnipotent. If he can’t create the stone, then he can’t be omnipotent either because there’s something he can’t do. Amazingly, theologists and philosophers have been debating this question for hundreds of years, trying
Readers choose
Chaim Potok
Shadonna Richards
Nicky Charles
Anne Logston
Joy Fielding
Anne Perry
Maureen Johnson
Erin Noelle