​That’s my grandson Oak and me outside his home in South Carolina that his parents are renting while his dad completes research at a local university. When I told Oak his house is cool, he said, “But it’s old.” I answered, “Old can be cool; just look at me.” He said nothing, and from the next room, my daughter and husband burst out laughing.
     What defines coolness anyway? Take, for example, their Neo-Georgian house. It shows wear and tear from seven decades of living, but its stat...