My NYTIIH Score, Year Two
Posted by Jacob Harris Wed, 27 Dec 2006 20:05:00 GMT
It’s that time of the year again, when the air gets a certain crispness, snatches of holiday song fill the air, and everybody communes with their friends and family, joined in warmth by their shared commitment to one thing: figuring out their New York Times Year In Ideas Hipness score. For those of you who missed this last year, I’ve started the personal tradition of reading through the New York Times Magazine’s annual Year In Ideas issue and tabulating how many of the collected phenomena I had known about beforehand. This is no mere game; a sufficiently high score is the only thing that allows me to still bask in the comfort of being “with it”, so please appreciate the seriousness of this moment.
I’ve been a bit late coming to the game this year (it’s been a really busy December), but now is the moment of truth and a big game day question: Now that I actually work at the Times, how will that affect my score? On the one hand, I am that much closer to the elitist, liberal, intellectual mindset the Times is so renowned for, so that should conceivably help my score. But – and I am painfully aware of the irony here – I find myself with so much less time to read the news these days now that I’m actually working for it, which might detract from my score.
If you’ve never read the Year in Ideas issue, give it a gander and see how much you recognize. I’m sure there will be some things you recognize a little, some you’ve known for years (as the picture shows, I’m very aware that shipping containers explain everything), and some things that will completely surprise you. And if you’re feeling competitive, tally up your score and see how intellectually hip you are. My results follow:
| The Aerotropolis | The New Inequality |
| Air-Index Impressionism | Olfactory Cuisine |
| The Ambient Walkman | Paternity Confidence |
| The Ballot That Is Also a Lottery Ticket | Phantom Pianists |
| The Beer-Gut Flask | Psychological Neoteny |
| Bicycle Helmets Put You at Risk | Publication Probity |
| Big Urbanism | Redefining Torture |
| The Boomerang Drone | The Return of the Corporate State |
| Cohabitation Is Bad for Women’s Health | Reverse Graffiti |
| The Comb That Listens | The Robot Fielder |
| Creative Shrinkage | Rods From God |
| Digital Maoism | Sailing an Oil Tanker |
| The Diplomat-Parking-Violation Corruption Index | Salt That Doesn’t Stick |
| The Drivable One-Man Blimp | Shipping Containers Explain Everything |
| The E. Coli Wipe | Smart Elevators |
| Empty-Stomach Intelligence | The Social-Cue Reader |
| Energy-Harvesting Floors | Sousveillance |
| The Eyes of Honesty | Speed-Reducing Art |
| The Fashion Czar | Spit Art |
| For-Profit Philanthropy | Sporno |
| The Gyroball | Straw That Saves Lives |
| The Hidden-Fee Economy | Taxing Virtual Economies |
| Homophily | Techno Fashion |
| Human-Chimp Hybrids | The Tongue Sucker |
| The Humane Flophouse | Trash-Talk Exegesis |
| Hyperopia | Tushology |
| Indie Sitcoms | Unscratchable Paint |
| Jujitsu Advertising | The Visage Problem |
| The Lady Macbeth Effect | Voting-Booth Feng Shui |
| Literary Spam | Walk-In Health Care |
| Low Starting Prices Lead to High Auction Sales | Web-Based Microfinancing |
| Misery Chic | The Wheelchair Car |
| Money-Circulation Science | Wine That Ages Instantly |
| The Myth of ‘the Southern Strategy’ | Workplace Rumors Are True |
| Narcissistic Celebrities | Yodeling Is Universal |
| N.C.A.A. Psyop | The YouTube Referee Indictment |
| Negativity Friendships | The Ziggurat of Zealotry |
There you have it. A total score of 46 out of 74, for a NYTYIIH score of 55.4%! Given the wide-ranging scope of ideas, this might seem decent enough, except last year I scored an impressive 65.38%. Oh the humanity! I guess I’m now longer the idea hipster/coolhunter I thought I was. But can you do better?
