But the hoodie belonged to the Noughties. I don’t believe it was just about the ASBO generation hiding their faces from CCTV, either. It’s more practical than that. If you spend all your time hanging around on the street in a coldish, wettish country, a hood will keep you warm, and stops the rain spoiling your hairstyle. Plus it creates a safe anonymity for a teenage boy to hide in: if you’re a skinny, pimply 14-year-old who has to deal with a lot of confrontation, putting your hood up means that, from behind at least, someone might take you for something more dangerous than you really are.

From The Economist’s More Intelligent Life blog.

Also mentioned: Apple everything, poor-quality pixellated images, Eindhoven design academy, anti-modernism, Frieze magazine and Bernie Madoff’s smile. Also see, More Intelligent Life‘s The i-Decade.