Connected
The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives
By: Nicholas A. Christakis MD, PhD. & James H. Fowler PhD.
Published: September 28, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
ISBN: 9780316036146
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
"The key to understanding people is understanding the ties between them", write authors Nicholas A. Christakis MD, PhD. and James H. Fowler PhD., in their groundbreaking book Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives. The authors demonstrate that social networks have a profound effect on how people live, think, and behave. There are even discernible rules governing that behavior and the relationships between people.
Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler apply years of research into the complex social relationships between people, and how those interactions have a direct influence on how connected individuals will behave. The authors also discovered in their research that an individual can have their behavior changed even by people who that person has never met and doesn't even know personally. Friends of friends can be more influential than more closely tied people. Human society, according to Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler form networks that parallel other networks found in science, and indeed human networks can be even more complex than those found in nature or in technology. For the authors, these human connected networks can even take on an organic life of their own.
Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler (both in photo left) recognize that the understanding the importance and influence of social networks changes the perception of individual control over one's life. The authors realize that such an insight can be frightening for many people. On the other hand, they consider the powerful idea that interconnectedness is a crucial force in a person's life. That force can also be one for good, and can have benefits for all members of the interconnected networks. For Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, knowing how people are connected is critical for understanding the human experience.
For me, the power of the book is the in depth analysis undertaken by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler as they delve into the connections that create human networks. Because people interact with one another, and friends of friends have friends, a social network can exert considerable influence over how people within the group behave. That knowledge can be applied to fight the spread of disease, inspire more people to vote, or to help find suitable marriage partners. The authors also describe the importance of social connections in the online internet world. Their research found that networks and internet communities behave in a similar manner to connections made in the off line world. The knowledge of how connections are created, multiply, and interact can have a powerful effect on people's health, safety, and happiness.
I highly recommend the exciting and important book Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler, to anyone seeking a deeper, science based study of human connectedness. The authors provide compelling evidence that social networks are a crucial part of the human experience, and how those network interactions can have profound effects on the lives of the network's membership.
Read and take time to ponder the concepts presented in the must read book Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler. In an ever shrinking world, linked more closely together through the internet and globalization, a clear understanding of how connections are formed and effect their participants is vital in the global economy. At the same time, the same concepts can be applied to recognizing the influence of one's own social networks. The book is a wonderful guide to how people interact and behave, and is essential reading for everyone.
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