Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives -- How Your Friends' Friends' Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do

by James H. Fowler PhD, Nicholas A. Christakis MD, PhD

Overview

Celebrated scientists Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler explain the amazing power of social networks and our profound influence on one another's lives.

Your colleague's husband's sister can make you fat, even if you don't know her. A happy neighbor has more impact on your happiness than a happy spouse. These startling revelations of how much we truly influence one another are revealed in the studies of Dr. Christakis and Fowler, which have repeatedly made front-page news nationwide.

In Connected, the authors explain why emotions are contagious, how health behaviors spread, why the rich get richer, even how we find and choose our partners. Intriguing and entertaining, Connected overturns the notion of the individual and provides a revolutionary paradigm-that social networks influence our ideas, emotions, health, relationships, behavior, politics, and much more. It will change the way we think about every aspect of our lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316036139
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	01/12/2011
Pages:	338
Sales rank:	419,827
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Nicholas A. Christakis is a physician and sociologist who explores the ancient origins and modern implications of human nature. He directs the Human Nature Lab at Yale University, where he is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science, in the Departments of Sociology, Medicine, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Statistics and Data Science, and Biomedical Engineering. He is the Co-Director of the Yale Institute for Network Science and the co-author of Connected.

Table of Contents

Preface xiii

1 In the Thick of It 3

2 When You Smile, the World Smiles with You 33

3 Love the One You're With 61

4 This Hurts Me As Much As It Hurts You 95

5 The Buck Starts Here 135

6 Politically Connected 172

7 It's in Our Nature 210

8 Hyperconnected 253

9 The Whole Is Great 287

Acknowledgments 307

Notes 311

Illustration Credits 327

Index 329

Reading Group Guide 339

Editorial Reviews

"Christakis and Fowler have written the book on the exciting new science of social networks. CONNECTED could change your life forever. How? Read it yourself and find out."—Daniel Gilbert, bestselling author of Stumbling on Happiness

"In a category of works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world."—The New York Times

"Groundbreaking."—Kirkus

"An entertaining guide to the mechanics and importance of human networking."—Publishers Weekly

"Engaging and insightful...sure-to-be a blockbuster...Connected succeeds in connecting with its audience."—SeedMagazine.com

"Illuminating...The authors excel at drawing out the devil in the detail. Connected has profound implications."—New Scientist

"Intriguing."—SmartMoney.com

"Connected explores the startling intricacies of social networks."—O, The Oprah Magazine

"Could well be one of the most important works of the decade. Full of fascinating stories and examples. A must read."—Ed Diener, Joseph Smiley Distinguished Professor of Psychology University of Illinois and author of Happiness

"In a social world exploding with new ways to interact, Connected is a user's guide for ourselves in the 21st century."—Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics and author of Predictably Irrational

"A God's-eye view of social relationships that may make you dizzy. Every business leader, teacher, and parent should see their life from this vantage."—Chip Heath, coauthor Made to Stick

"A lively, well-written account of social networks and their power to shape our lives. The world becomes smaller and more meaningful after reading this engaging book."—Sudhir Venkatesh, author of Gang Leader for a Day

"The possibility that we all participate in one mind challenges religion, philosophy, and the meaning of life itself."—Deepak Chopra, San Francisco Chronicle

"[In a category of] works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world."—The New York Times

"A clever, cogent, and enjoyable look at the latest thinking about humans in community. It provides a swath of important research in one place for readers and makes it a stimulating read."

—Michael Fitzgerald, Boston Globe

"An intellectual but accessible approach. The authors make a persuasive case for the power of social networks to affect everything and everyone."—Business Week

From the Publisher

"A clever, cogent, and enjoyable look at the latest thinking about humans in community. It provides a swath of important research in one place for readers and makes it a stimulating read."

Michael Fitzgerald

"A lively, well-written account of social networks and their power to shape our lives. The world becomes smaller and more meaningful after reading this engaging book."

Sudhir Venkatesh

"A God's-eye view of social relationships that may make you dizzy. Every business leader, teacher, and parent should see their life from this vantage."

Chip Heath

"Could well be one of the most important works of the decade. Full of fascinating stories and examples. A must read."

Ed Diener

"Engaging and insightful...sure-to-be a blockbuster...Connected succeeds in connecting with its audience."

SeedMagazine.com

"In a social world exploding with new ways to interact, Connected is a user's guide for ourselves in the 21st century."

Dan Ariely

"An intellectual but accessible approach. The authors make a persuasive case for the power of social networks to affect everything and everyone."

Business Week

"The possibility that we all participate in one mind challenges religion, philosophy, and the meaning of life itself."
— San Francisco Chronicle

Deepak Chopra

"Intriguing."

SmartMoney.com

"Illuminating...The authors excel at drawing out the devil in the detail. [Connected] has profound implications."

New Scientist

"Engaging and insightful...sure-to-be a blockbuster...Connected succeeds in connecting with its audience."

SeedMagazine.com

"[In a category of] works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world."

The New York Times

"An entertaining guide to the mechanics and importance of human networking."

Publishers Weekly

"Groundbreaking."

Kirkus

"Connected explores the startling intricacies of social networks."

The Oprah Magazine O

"Christakis and Fowler have written the book on the exciting new science of social networks. CONNECTED could change your life forever. How? Read it yourself and find out."

Daniel Gilbert

"Intriguing."

SmartMoney.com

"Illuminating...The authors excel at drawing out the devil in the detail. Connected has profound implications."

New Scientist

"The possibility that we all participate in one mind challenges religion, philosophy, and the meaning of life itself."

Deepak Chopra - San Francisco Chronicle

"[In a category of] works of brilliant originality that can stimulate and enlighten and can sometimes even change the way we understand the world."

The New York Times

"An intellectual but accessible approach. The authors make a persuasive case for the power of social networks to affect everything and everyone."

Business Week

The possibility that we all participate in one mind challenges religion, philosophy, and the meaning of life itself.
— San Francisco Chronicle

Deepak Chopra

The Internet age has provoked some quips that Andy Warhol's "in the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes" has been superseded by "in the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen people." At this point, few would deny the major significance of social networks, but perhaps those proliferating people connections have never been presented as vividly or as entertainingly as in this book. In Connected, versatile Harvard scientist Nicholas Christakis and University of California political science professor James Fowler make a compelling case that social networks hold powerful influence over our health, taste, wealth, happiness, beliefs, and even our weight. Never have contagions been so entertaining.

In their writing, [Christakis and Fowler] are endearingly excitable, ranging enthusiastically across science and culture to find gee-whiz insights and unexpected results that support their arguments.
—The New York Times

Scott Stossel

Harvard professor and health care policy specialist Christakis (Death Foretold: Prophecy and Prognosis in Medical Care) became interested in social connectivity when observing that the mortality rate of spouses spike after a partner passes away. Christakis sought out a collaboration with Fowler, a health systems and political scientist, and together they compare topology (the hows of a given structure) across different social networks to better explain how participation and positioning enhances the effectiveness of an individual, and why the "whole" of a network is "greater than the sum of its parts." Five basic rules describe the relationship between individuals and their networks-including mutual adaptation, the influence of friends and friends' friends, the network's "life of its own"-but the results do more than promote the good of the group: they also spread contagions; create "epidemics" of obesity, smoking and substance abuse; disseminate fads and markets; alter voting patterns; and more. A thorough but popular take on a complex phenomenon, this volume offers an entertaining guide to the mechanics and importance of human networking. 13 b/w illustrations, 8-page color insert.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

"The book has all sorts of interesting information about how our friends influence our lives, for better and for worse."

MarieClaire.com

"Groundbreaking...."

Kirkus