What is cool? 

Cool changes with age, maturity, physical surroundings, social status,
resources, etc.

Fundamentally subcultures are about shared activities and
experiences. An easy route to popularity is by excelling at a
respected activity within your subculture of choice.

Similiarly, subcultures often form around the perfection of a
particular skill, and people regularly define themselves in terms of
their acquired proficiencies.

So a "cool" surfer is likely to be a rather talented one, while a
well-connected stock broker is likely to be a good trader on wall
street, and so forth. From Linux hackers to people who quote the
Simpsons to Varsity sports, one good measure of popularity is ability
at shared activities.

But outside of the particular social group who share your love of a
past-time, it can be difficult to bond with and impress people with
your ability.

That is why my project attempts to enable communication between two
"cool" objects. The goal is to permit one subculture to understand the
other by seeing their activity re-cast as one they are more familiar
with.

In picking two subcultures for the initial tests, I chose two that I
would like to exhibit skill at.

First, I recently purchased a gorgeous electric bass guitar and have
been picking at it like a crusty scab. The appeal of being a rock star
stems from deep in our pop-culture upbringing. The bass in particular
is somewhat hard to appreciate because you only really notice it if
the player is particularly good or bad, otherwise it hopeflly blends
well with the song and helps the mood without drawing attention to
itself.

Second, when I was younger I had a skateboard, but I lived in a very
hilly neighborhood, and it was stolen before I could really learn it
anyway. However, this summer I received a brand new one as a birthday
present, and I've been learning why it's best to start while your
ankles still heal quickly.

So the next time I'm trying to get free instruction out of bass and
skateboard gurus, they will be able to cooperate and compete with each
other across the barrier of separate subcultures.

As each demonstrates proficiency with one skill, the system expresses
it as the mirroring one. I invite you to experiment with it as it
stands, and consider how excellence effects your social interactions.

(deep voice) Warning, actual implementation may be a mechanically
simplified proof of concept. Void where prohibited by law.