Picking up Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, you might be forgiven for thinking ‘another book about goldfish jumping from one bowl to another?’ I’m currently through the first chapter, and while the authors don’t go far enough in terms of setting the scene for their work in terms of basic social network theory and where it comes from (Barabasi is not mentioned until page 265), they do offer some interesting anecdotes about the type of information that passes between the socially connected.
With a clear focus on avoiding the obvious and well trodden paths of those that have gone before them, the authors pull their stories from their own work and other accounts of things like cascades of emotion (someone 3 degrees away from you can cause you to be happier or sadder) and epidemics of laughter (mass psychogenic illness).
I’m enjoying this book (provided by the publisher) more than the previous book that I attempted to review. This may be entirely due to my frame of mind, or being a better fit for the audience. Or – perhaps someone three degrees away from me read it and liked it.
I’ll write more when I’ve finished.
Comments