Want to look cool? Put a bad-ass squiggly Japanese symbol onto your shoulder! Seems to be the prevalent choice for over-fed over-stimulated mid-aged american populace. And here are some reasons why:  

 

a) You look misterious, because nobody knows what it means. Do you?

b) You look in touch with your inner self in a meditative kind of way.

c) Can pass as a tree hugger, claiming the buddist BS. 

d) Can pass as a sensitive type (you are thinking of things, instead of just putting a dumb plain-english word onto your skin). This helps you score chicks.

e) Alternatively, you ARE a chick, then it helps you score dudes. They think you are into weird kama-sutra and tantric shit and that makes them want you.

f) Can pretend you are into self improvement and healthy life-style, which is hip nowadays.

g) If you are aiming to impress a more proletarian  demographics, then you can pass for the army type, who's been around the world and knows of other cultures (not just from shooting at them)

h) * (an asterisk). Anything you want them to think - you can! That is the beauty of putting an ambiguous symbol like that onto your body