Connected

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.

Reviews

‘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’

About the author

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.