<p>how hipster is Chicago really? it didn't seem hipster to me. i don't know how reliable the Huffington Post really is but they rated it ninth. Hmmm.</p>
<p>Of course, they are ranked UChicago one of the nerdiest schools! 
[The</a> NERDIEST Colleges](<a href=“The NERDIEST Colleges | HuffPost College”>The NERDIEST Colleges | HuffPost College)</p>
<p>my two cents on the UChicago Hipster claim:</p>
<p>UChicago students are smart and geeky. They always have been. It’s just that over the last decade, geek became chic and irony became mainstream and all of a sudden the smart, fluent in sarcasm, obscure-appreciating, and yes, nerdy, UChicago student kind of fit the hipster mold.</p>
<p>Yes, many students appreciate irony. But what else can you expect from the sort of teenager who chooses to attend a school that markets itself as “the place where fun comes to die” and understands the humor behind it? Yes, many students are knowledgeable in obscure subjects. But what else can you expect from a college student who attends a top-notch academic institution in part because of its outstanding research opportunities? UofC students study obscure stuff because the UofC encourages the study of obscure stuff. </p>
<p>I have friends who shop at vintage stores because they’d rather not participate in the rituals of consumerism, but that’s because they have discussed, dissected, and analyzed the social and political implications of modern day consumerism and advertising. Does that sound pretentious? Sure. But it’s born out of legitimate thought and information, not a desire to look cool. I don’t want to overgeneralize, but many UofC students don’t care too much about looking cool. They never looked cool. They gave up on looking cool years ago. But now pop culture and mainstream media have begun to give off the impression that giving up on looking cool is the cool new thing to do.</p>
<p>My sister, who goes to an elite but very pre-professional school, tells me that her hipster friends are always “reading something pretentious and German.” Pretty much everyone who took a Core SOSC class has read something pretentious and/or German. OH WAIT THAT’S EVERYONE AT UCHICAGO.</p>
<p>for pure entertainment value though:</p>
<p>[uchicago</a> hipsters: the ontology of irony](<a href=“http://uchicagohipsters.■■■■■■■■■■/]uchicago”>http://uchicagohipsters.■■■■■■■■■■/)</p>
<p>Ok, thanks. I understand what a hipster is now. I guess before I didn’t fully understand hipster. Thanks!</p>