Over at Slate they have a pretty good essay about how the word “cool” changed over time, from its origins in African-American subculture, through its place in ’60s and ’70s youth culture, to a concept that crosses ethnic, gender, and generational lines today. Ultimately, Carl Wilson is trying to answer, “What does ‘cool’ mean in 2013?” I figured I’d post a link to it, since we were just talking about this the other day in relation to slang and the evolution of language. And Wilson includes lots of links to genuinely cool stories.