The discussion at dinner last night turned to props.

The Economist, to which I recently subscribed, is the best prop I know, both from the holder and from the observer's perspective. The Economist stands for worldy intelligence. And getting through all those British spellings just makes you feel smarter. When you read The New Yorker (to which I also subscribe), you feel in the loop, but when you read The Economist, you feel intellectually edified. So when you see someone else reading The Economist, it naturally reflects well on them.

Obviously, The Economist has much more than prop value. Its large number of short articles in each issue make it ideal for the city lifestyle. You can squeeze in a couple of nuggets on the 1 train from 18th to 72nd Street. You can learn something about Canadian trade by the time you get to Times Square, and then catch up on Japanese GDP just before heading over to Fairway. You don't have to get bogged down in a eight-page rumination for which at least 30 contiguous minutes are required.

I'm very happy with my Economist subscription.