Coolness

Coolness is dominance signaling and countersignaling by looking fashionable and dangerous, as well as behaving in an interesting and impressive manner, all without trying hard and not (openly) caring what others thinks of it. Effortless achievement signals confidence in one's ability and signals or fakes untapped potential. Coolness is related to stoicism due to the downplaying of effort, and related to charisma and game due to elegance, minimalism and style.

A modern phenomenon

Even though poise has always been a thing, coolness may be on the rise because, historically, few were socially isolated enough to secretly achieving mastery by practicing in complete isolation, to then effortlessly display a masterful skill or style, to the complete awe of others, whom did not see the hours of practice, such as the hours of isolating practice it takes to shred on a guitar. Also people have evolved to interpret coolness under the context of what would be cool on the Khoisan African Savannah, but factors such as industrialization and national IQ influence what people perceive as cool as well. People still see certain ancient hunter-gatherer type behaviors as cool such as the socializing, focus on music, dangerous war behavior etc. Thus, an objective list of cool behaviors and traits is open for interpretation, though one can get people to vote on certain behaviors to see how they are generally received, for example on sites such as Photofeeler and Photoeval. The the official studies on coolness don't control for drastically different opinions of what is cool in different cultures other than Western cultures, for example curry is cool in India with billions of people as the sample size and no where else is that dish considered cool. The official studies also mainly just say being pro social and physically attractive/healthy is cool but so is its opposite rebelliousness, alcohol/drug use etc.

As men are increasingly discouraged to openly compete, they may resort to compete in effortless achievements. In times of economic stagnation, males also arguably need to resort to style and effortlessness more to distinguish themselves (rather than with economic achievements).

Aura farming and coolness

The Western world correctly views time as a linear resource to be spent, saved, or wasted due to technological advancements such as the mechanical clock. Time is objective, absolute and a currency. But through the lens of many African and other culturally-fluid societies, were such technological advancements were not made or lesser, time is also a medium for cultivating social energy—a phenomenon we call Africa time, colored people time, island time but more recently Aura Farming.

The primary style of Aura Farming, as there are different styles is the unconscious social process where the perceived value, weight, and epicness of an event or action is increased by the collective time spent waiting for it. It’s not about procrastination or inefficiency; it’s about building potential energy. The longer the gestation period, the more "aura" is farmed, transforming a mundane task into a significant social moment.

There are many types of aura, individual aura is the personal social capital gained by arriving "fashionably late." Showing up exactly on time for a casual party can signal over-eagerness or that you have nothing better going on (low aura). Arriving later, having allowed your own aura to "charge" by doing other things, means you arrive as a more substantial, in-demand presence (high aura). The second type of aura is collective aura The shared energy of a group that has successfully farmed aura together. This is the critical element. If everyone operates on this understanding, like in most african descent cultures, then an event's start time is not the moment the eventis stated to begin, but the moment from which aura farming officially starts. This is the core of how africa time, coloured people time, and island time, "aura farming" works.

The social mechanics of aura farming can be summed up in two phases the charge and the release, the time between the planned start and the actual convergence is not dead air. It’s a period where anticipation builds, last-minute chores are finished, and social bonds are indirectly strengthened through the shared, unspoken knowledge of what is coming. When people finally gather, the released collective aura is palpable. The event isn't a punctual meeting; it's a celebration of having all successfully converged after a period of cultivation. The laughter is louder, the greetings are more dramatic, and the event itself feels more significant precisely because it was earned.

Illustrative Examples Fixing the Roof (The Individual Epic):

Low Aura (Fix it immediately): A chore. A task checked off a list. It has no narrative weight.

High Aura (Fix it after a month): The repair becomes an event. You've lived with the problem, contemplated it, gathered materials slowly. When you finally climb up there on a Saturday afternoon, it’s not just fixing a leak; it’s a heroic deed. The satisfaction is immense because you farmed aura around it for weeks.

The Party (The Collective Epic):

Low Aura (Everyone on time): Feels transactional, formal, and slightly anxious. Like an important work or board meeting or a doctor's appointment etc. The aura pool is shallow.

High Aura (Everyone an hour "late"): The host isn't stressed by an empty house at the start time; they're using that time for final touches and their own aura farming. The first guest especially if they arrive alone may be seen as awkward. The critical mass arrives later, and the party ignites instantly because everyone arrives brimming with personal aura and ready to contribute to the collective pool. The party itself has a legendary status because it started not on time, but when it was meant to. This system only works when there is a shared cultural understanding. Aura farming requires everyone to be on the same page.

To truly understand "Aura Farming" and "Africa Time," we must first understand what it is reacting against. The mechanization of time, beginning in earnest in the European Middle Ages, fundamentally rewired the human psyche and created a new, future-oriented relationship with existence. Before the widespread use of mechanical clocks in the 14th century, human time was primarily, cyclical dictated by nature—the rising and setting sun, the phases of the moon, the changing seasons. Time was a loop, not a line. As well as event-based, time was measured by its content. A task took "as long as it took" or was measured in relatable durations: "the time it takes to cook rice," "a half-day's walk." Social events began when people gathered, not at a pre-ordained number on a dial. This organic time is the native habitat of Aura Farming. In an event-based world, waiting is part of the event. The cultivation of social energy is the point, not an inefficiency.

The mechanical clock changed everything. It was a monumental shift Time was separated from human and natural events. It became an independent, objective, measurable force that existed outside of life. A clock ticked on, indifferent to whether the harvest was good, the conversation was engaging, or the party had started. It created abstract, standardized units. Time was no longer "a while" but a precise number of hours, minutes, and seconds. This was essential for the coordination of complex societies, trade, and eventually, industrial labor. This externalization had a profound cognitive effect, particularly in the West, with time now a measurable line stretching ahead, the focus shifted to the future. You could "plan," "schedule," "allocate," and "invest" time. The present moment became a stepping stone to a future goal.

The famous phrase "Time is money," attributed to Benjamin Franklin, is the ultimate expression of this. Time became a currency to be spent wisely and not "wasted." In this framework, waiting is the ultimate sin—it is spending your finite currency on nothing. This brings the cultural clash into sharp focus, the Mechanized-Time Mindset sees "Africa Time" as a failure to properly manage a precious resource. Waiting is a net loss. A party that starts late is a party that has "wasted" an hour of everyone's lives. Under this lens "aura farming" is not cool but very few people cross culturally universally apply the mechanized time mindset as even whites still make reference to the concept of being "fashionably late" especially as to make a "grand entrance" when it comes to social events.

The Aura-Farming Mindset sees the rigid adherence to the clock as alienating and antisocial. It prioritizes an arbitrary number on a machine over the organic, social readiness of the people involved. To show up on time is to privilege the schedule over the social energy, which feels transactional and cold. The invention of the mechanical clock didn't just tell time; it told people how to think about time. It created a population that sees time as a linear path to be optimized. "Aura Farming" in a mechanized time population though can be seen as laziness or a lack of discipline, lower IQ and lower conscientiousness, which highlights the subjective, cultural nature of coolness.

Can types of aura be objectively measured? and are they attractive to women?

So far the only objective and empirical way to measure aura types has been to put pictures of different fashion trends and styles on photo rating sites such as photoeval and photofeeler, were high status, high class, suits, and expensive high status cosplay outfits such as Vergil's leather suit outfit from the devil may cry franchise, specifically the fifth game, Seshomaru from Inuyasha's outfit etc. anything that looks heavily ornate really, is essentially a massive boost to performative, social aura. High status and or ornate looking clothing essentially maximizes a man's aura to women but it seems from the results high status cars and houses etc. does not add aura and in some cases may take away from it, most likely due to bad stereotypes surrounding certain markers of high status for example the evil billionaire trope.

Danger and coolness

Dangerous activities like free climbing, sex, binge drinking, going to war, etc. are cool because they are dangerous. One could argue purposefully setting one's hand on fire is dangerous but not cool. The counter argument to that is any dangerous behavior no matter how stupid, can be cool if played off with stoicism and finesse.

For example, one sets their own hand on fire, and without flinching, calmly blows the flames out in an impressive manner hardly seeming to try at all, and then one brushes their hair back, with that same hand, and says "ain't got time to burn." The stupid act of setting one's own hand on fire has just been made cool.

Can women be cool?

Female pokerface

Women can engage in cool behavior and be dangerous from an objective standpoint, such as a female combat soldier in the United States Army, however their neotenous faces hardly advertise danger and women smile a lot more than men. War heroism and bravery, are only more sexually attractive in males. Further, women appear to have a preference for dangerous, disagreeable men, but men prefer nice, obedient women. Women have on average a more withdrawn personality type, so they may more often put on a poker face, which is related to coolness, but most self-identified hard-core incels agree women can't be cool. Cutecels are also often not intimidating enough to be cool.

See also

• Fashion
• Confidence
• Social awkwardness
• Chad
• Beauty
• Game
• Frame (PUA)