Whats "Cool?" Got a Definition?

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What’s "Cool?" Got a Definition?

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CraigL

posts: 9051

Feb 22, 2009 6:24 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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This comes out of some thinking about Guy Kawasaki and his thoughts about successful entrepreneurs. Specifically, he observes that starting a business purely for the purpose of making money never creates "the next big thing."

Obviously, we all start a business with an assumption we`ll make money. But the businesses that go on to really have an impact, almost always begin when someone says, "Jeez...wouldn`t it be cool if...."

So what does that mean, cool?

We know it`s a colloquialism. It`s a substitute word, and likely won`t have a formal definition. That`s okay...what`s the "sense" of the definition?

Any definition has to make a reference to the overall set or group of concepts containing the word. It then should specifically point to the 1 unique thing that makes the word different.

What`s the overall class of stuff we`re referring to when we say something`s cool? Or "boss," "neat," "fabulous," "awesome," or "nifty?"

Keep in mind that a definition isn`t a "story about some thing that represents and example of cool." :-)

If we`re going to write The Entrepreneur`s Dictionary, what would we write under the entry: "Cool."

Cool (kool) - adj. -er, -est
1. .................

CraigL

posts: 9051

Feb 22, 2009 6:51 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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No wonder I wasn`t cool in high-school. I didn`t have signal flags. All`s I had was a Hop-a-long Cassidy lunchbox! Okay, okay....I finally gave it up when I was 16, but I really didn`t want to, y`know.... (Should`a had a signal-flag lunchbox!)

MattTurpin

posts: 249

Feb 22, 2009 8:06 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Cool has many definitions. It has many uses.

In the sentence, "Wouldn`t it be cool if..." cool is a synonym for great. "Wouldn`t it be great if..."

Most of the time, cool is a synonym for trendy. Cool is what cool people are doing. Cool has to be attention grabbing. Cool is what catches your attention when dealing with people you want to be like. Cool is the cutting edge of your lifestyle. For a techie, the iPhone was and might still be cool, because it was cutting edge and attention grabbing technology. Cool usually adds flashy aesthetics to the mundane, when cool refers to products. The iPod made mp3 players flashy and mainstream. Cool is different for everyone. It`s the epitome of what you want to be. There is a mainstream sense of cool supplied by culture television like MTV, but even subcultures have cool. An 8-core processor is cool to the geek. The hottest pocketbook might be cool to a socialite girl. Cool is just the latest expansion in progress in a field you like. SUN is cool because it`s the best thing going for up and coming businesspeople in a world where you used to have to hire this kind of help. The internet is the biggest definer of what is and will be cool, as it`s the definition of mass market.

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Making limitless possibilities much more limited.

CraigL

posts: 9051

Feb 23, 2009 3:35 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Now see, I don`t think "cool" is directly equal to "great." I like the possibility of "trendy," but I don`t think it`s enough. But when we get to "cutting edge of lifestyle," I think we`re approaching something.

That the manifestation of cool is different for everyone is only the definition working its way through their lives. Success, fear, failure, all are different in the specifics for everyone. But the definition holds true across all experiences----or it should, if it`s a proper definition.

The main problem with saying that "cool is the latest expansion of progress in a field," is that it`s reactive. In Kawasaki`s observation, the inventor is *being* the expanding force---not reacting.

So a reactive context would be to see something and say, "Woah, is THAT cool...!" The proactive context would be, "Wouldn`t it be cool if this or that existed." The assumption is that it doesn`t yet exist.

Cool goes beyond great. It includes a "wow" factor, much like something being really great. But I think even the word "great" is a colloquialism....a cultural substitution for the same underlying concept. That`s why cool, groovy, boss, nifty, slick, awesome and so forth don`t get us anywhere.

Nor does the literal translation mean anything. "Cool" in the cultural context isn`t a measure of temperature.

idahobob

posts: 48

Feb 23, 2009 4:41 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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cool... hmmm

I think "cool" happens when the beat matches the tempo... cool is when both end`s of the extreme find their balance... when comfort meets function.

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Bob

MattTurpin

posts: 249

Feb 23, 2009 8:18 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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"Wow! That`s cool!"

"Wouldn`t it be cool if...?"

The common denominator is the future.

Cool is the perceived future of your lifestyle - of a field. Whether it`s a newly released gadget like the iPhone that became the future of cellphone design on its release, or an upcoming release with potential to change the field, or the daydream speculations of an inventor trying to be the next best thing, cool is always the next best thing. It`s physical existence doesn`t define its coolness. Its allure to the people who care does. Cool has to be personal, because it`s an opinion at heart.

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Making limitless possibilities much more limited.

CraigL

posts: 9051

Feb 24, 2009 3:01 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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So far, it looks like we agree that "cool" is a positive, good thing. Generally speaking, we want something that`s cool, or to be labeled as cool.

But I wonder if it`s also a reference to future events?

An iPod is definitely in the present, despite it also being continually upgraded out into the future. But what`s interesting is that a portable CD player was "cool" about 20 years, ago. Today, it`s definitely not cool!

So there`s also a time-frame attached to "cool."

That being said, we can visit museums or historic sites, look at something like the astronomical significance of the pyramids, and say, "Damn...is THAT cool...!" And those pyramids were built 35,000 years ago.

So how come the CD player isn`t cool, but the pyramids are?

idahobob

posts: 48

Feb 24, 2009 10:01 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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So how come the CD player isn`t cool, but the pyramids are?

I`m sure in 35,000 yrs if someone finds a cd player, they will think it`s petty cool.

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Bob

pnigma

posts: 1

Feb 24, 2009 11:54 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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I have become very intrigued by your discussion. I in fact think the whole conversation itself is cool. The idea that it has struck two people to dive into there minds and both come up with two very cool perspectives on the subject is cool to me. So cool in fact that I believe that this is or could be a very cool website for me and my business. Your discussion has in fact made something that otherwise would be just another website into a cool website, with cool people who have cool conversations about the things in life only we think are cool.

Thank you.

Phillip Rock

CraigL

posts: 9051

Feb 24, 2009 6:31 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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LOL! Phillip... :-D Well, that`s cool... :-D

Bob,
No doubt! If they`d had a CD player back in ancient Egypt, someone would have said it was pretty cool...or the Egyptian equivalent of the term.

I have a suspicion that the term "cool" applies to two other words that lack in any good definition: elegant, and graceful.

To my way of thinking, elegance is like an engineering term to specify the maximum amount of return for the minimum amount of "process." In other words, elegance means having exactly what`s necessary, but no more and no less.

Graceful is even harder in that it means elegant performance. The maximum and ideal performance with no wasted or wasteful effort.

I suspect that "cool" is a popular word to describe something that includes both elegance and grace, but that also includes a third attribute we haven`t yet uncovered. :-)

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