Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler book on how social networks tie into health and human behavior, including obesity, smoking, voting and happiness. Prof. CHRISTAKIS: Well, I mean, I think the basic point to stress is that in some sense we’re all embedded in these vast social networks and that – and that the fact that human beings live out their lives in these intricate, extensive social networks is not a coincidence. Some other work that James and I have done suggests that there are ancient genetic roots to this kind of connectedness. And in a way we think of networks as a kind of – as a kind of matrix in which we’re all embedded, or if you will, like the Force in “Star Wars,” you know, it surrounds us, it affects us all, it’s there everywhere. And, you know, most people nowadays are accustomed to talking about networks and they think about online networks that they can see but what they may not realize is that they’re actually embedded in these living, breathing networks that surround us all, all the time, and have always done so.
…what really matters to a lot of these phenomena is who you know, not where you are.
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