Knute Berger and Seattle Nice

A couple of weeks ago I headed over the bridge to Kirkland, where Seattle magazine columnist Knute Berger—or Skip as he's known to fans and friends—was giving a reading of his new book, Pugetopolis (which includes several essays first published in Seattle mag). The most interesting part of the evening was his exploration of “Seattle Nice,” a phenomenon he wrote about in a column that ran in Seattle magazine in July, 2007. I'm sure you’ve heard it before: We’re friendly—but only in a very superficial way. The interesting part came when he talked about additional theories he is gathering to explain this phenomenon: It'’s the weather, it’s our Scandinavian background (something I object to—my father was a Dane, and, let me tell you—the Danes know how to have a good time, though they may be the only Scandinavians who do), it’s the self-reliance trickle-down from our pioneer roots. But my favorite theory—maybe because it hits close to home—attributes Seattle nice to our abundance of engineers and techies, people who tend to be a bit introverted and without the usual social skills. (Full disclosure, I am married to an engineer.) Skip shares more of his theories at Crosscut where he’s also a regular columnist.