What does almost all the insanity in the United States have in common? The pursuit of a twisted, distorted version of "coolness" as defined by people who wouldn't know real cool if it slapped them in the face. Cool used to mean something special and unapologetically different from the crowd. Now it means thinking and saying and wearing and doing exactly what everyone else is. What's cool about total conformity?
Greg Gutfield seeks to put us back in touch with actual coolness. Greg tells you the "beliefs the cool use to enslave you" such as that nobody will like you. When Greg says "cool" he is referring to hipsters who "pretend the predictable, acceptable choices they make are actual risks." He attacks pointless "activism" and those cool losers who attack the people who actually make things work--things like liberal protesters' smart phones.
If you long for the days when people aspired to be like people who actually did cool things, e.g. walk on the moon (Neil Armstrong) or actually help the poor themselves (Mother Teresa) or invent stuff that makes people safer or happier (countless engineers in uncool clothing working long hours) you will enjoy this book. Gutfield understands your frustration with a world that values awareness over achievement, novelty over values, and entertainment over productivity
I received a free review copy of Not Cool from the publisher for my honest opinion.
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