In American youth and popular culture, “cool” is the desired pose. Cool is also a pervasive marketing tool. Coolness is in part about a confidence in appearance (in between trendy and nerdy), creating a visual style, but it is also a comment on an observable attitude—a mixture of nonchalance and self-absorption in attitude. Designer clothing comes in and out of style, for seemingly mysterious readings, making it cool to wear and, then, in a flash, “tacky.” Places—discos, neighborhoods, cities—come into style and are cool. For example, recently South Beach in Miami, FL became cool—after the artists moved in, celebrities followed, but with the advent of too many tourists it became passé. Some bands are cool. These bands tend not to be the most highly regarded by the population at large, but a secret amongst those who consider themselves in the know. Those long considered to be the antithesis of cool—nerds and geeks—have become cool with the rise of hacker and now Internet-related culture. In time, they too will be passé.