Book description
Based on exciting discoveries in mathematics, genetics, psychology and
sociology, 'Connected' is an innovative and fascinating exploration of
how social networks operate.
Think it's all about who you know? It is. But not the way you think.
Turns out your colleague's husband's sister can make you fat, even if
you don't know her. And a happy friend is more relevant to your
happiness than a bigger income.
Our connections - our friends, their friends, and even their friends'
friends - have an astonishing power to influence everything from what we
eat to who we sleep with. And we, in turn, influence others. Our actions
can change the behaviours, the beliefs, and even the basic health of
people we've never met.
In this brilliantly original and effortlessly engaging exploration of
how much we truly influence one another, pre-eminent social scientists
Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler explain why obesity is contagious,
why the rich get richer, even how we find and choose our partners.
Intriguing and entertaining, with revelatory implications for everything
from our notion of the individual to ideas about health care policy,
“Connected” will change the way you think about every aspect of your
life, and how you live it. 'What makes us human - for good and bad -
is our social nature. Nowhere is this complex, wonderful, and sometimes
dark part of us more clearly revealed than in “Connected”. In a social
world exploding with new ways to interact, “Connected” is a user's guide
for ourselves in the 21st century.' Dan Ariely, bestselling author of
'Predictably Irrational'
'Christakis and Fowler have written THE book on the exciting new
science of social networks. With passion and precision, these two
internationally renowned scientists expose the invisible webs that
connect each of us to the other, and in so doing cast our lives here
together in an astonishing new light. We think we are individuals who
control our own fates, but as Christakis and Fowler demonstrate, we are
merely cells in the nervous system of a much greater beast. If someone
you barely know reads “Connected”, it could change your life forever.
How? Read it yourself and find out.' Daniel Gilbert, bestselling author
of 'Stumbling on Happiness' Nicholas Christakis is a Harvard professor
with joint appointments in Care Policy, Sociology and Medicine, who has
been studying social networks for the last ten years. His work has been
covered by numerous publications including the New York Times, Newsweek
and Time magazine, which recently voted one of the 100 Most Influential
People in 2009.
James Fowler is a political scientist who specialises in the study of
social networks, human cooperation and political participation. His
projects on obesity and the genetic basis of political behaviour have
been covered by media outlets including the Washington Post and the BBC.
