“The Italian Renaissance author and diplomat Baldassare Castiglione was an early champion of cool, or what he thought of as studied carelessness, calling it ‘sprezzatura’. And his Book of the Courtier (1528) delineates in exquisite detail how to ‘practise in all things a certain nonchalance which conceals all artistry and makes whatever one says or does seem uncontrived and effortless’. As Castiglione understood, we value cool because we assume that those who act effortlessly must have plenty of resources in reserve for when bigger challenges arise. They exhibit a superfluity of fitness. Creating this appearance of ease is so valuable, Castiglione thought, that one should devote considerable effort to making it happen.” source — Some relate sprezzatura to the japanese concept of shibui — deliberate Miles Davis ref

Parerga and Paralipomena

(21 Sept 2026) Recent New Yorker book review of Ross Posnock’s American Sophistication: How the Casual Became Cool. Some quotes from the review:
- “sophisticated people are mostly smart people passing as rich people”
- “Sophistication One: effortless elegance and apparent ease … Sophistication Two[:] people who are broadly erudite across a surprising range of subjects”
- “Posnock firmly identifies the ninetten-fifties as the high-water mark of American sophistication”