About this item
From My Little Pony to the Sex Pistols: An engaging exploration of why we love what we love Katy Perry. Wes Anderson. Coldplay. Star Wars. Hamilton. Gilmore Girls. We all have our most and least favorite things. But why? In this smart, funny, and well-researched book, Benjamin Errett brings together the latest findings from the worlds of psychology, criticism, neuroscience, market research, and more to examine what taste really means - and what it can teach us about ourselves. Covering kitsch, nostalgia, snobbery, bad taste, George Michael, and what it means to be "basic," this is the ultimate read for anyone who devours popular and not-so-popular culture.
About the Author
Who is Benjamin Errett and what gives him the unmitigated audacity to tell me of all people how to be interesting? ! Great question! Sure, I'm a super interesting guy, but Elements of Wit isn't about that. It's my stab at a unified theory of what makes good things good. What was it that makes the plays of Tom Stoppard, the comedy of Louis CK, the poetry of Patricia Lockwood, the music of Kanye West, the essays of Christopher Hitchens and the best of Twitter so addictive? I'm pretty sure it's WIT -- which I define as spontaneous creativity -- and I'm also pretty sure we can all learn something from the lives of the Great Wits.
