Nicholas A. Christakis Books

"For too long, scientists have focused on the dark side of our biological heritage: our capacity for aggression, cruelty, prejudice, and self-interest. But natural selection has given us a suite of beneficial social features, including our capacity for love, friendship, cooperation, and learning. Beneath all our inventions--our tools, farms, machines, cities, nations--we carry with us innate proclivities to make a good society. In Blueprint, Nicholas A. Christakis introduces the compelling idea that our genes affect not only our bodies and behaviors, but also the ways in which we make societies, ones that are surprisingly similar worldwide. With many vivid examples--including diverse historical and contemporary cultures, communities formed in the wake of shipwrecks, commune dwellers seeking utopia, online groups thrown together by design or involving artificially intelligent bots, and even the tender and complex social arrangements of elephants and dolphins that so resemble our own--Christakis shows that, despite a human history replete with violence, we cannot escape our social blueprint for goodness. In a world of increasing political and economic polarization, it's tempting to ignore the positive role of our evolutionary past. Drawing on advances in social science, evolutionary biology, genetics, neuroscience, and network science, Blueprint shows how and why evolution has placed us on a humane path--and how we are united by our common humanity."--Jacket

A piercing and scientifically grounded look at the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic and how it will change the way we live -- "this year's must-must-read." (Daniel Gilbert) Apollo's Arrow offers a riveting account of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic as it swept through American society in 2020, and of how the recovery will unfold in the coming years. Drawing on momentous (yet dimly remembered) historical epidemics, contemporary analyses, and cutting-edge research from a range of scientific disciplines, bestselling author, physician, sociologist, and public health expert Nicholas A. Christakis explores what it means to live in a time of plague -- an experience that is paradoxically uncommon to the vast majority of humans who are alive, yet deeply fundamental to our species. Unleashing new divisions in our society as well as opportunities for cooperation, this 21st-century pandemic has upended our lives in ways that will test, but not vanquish, our already frayed collective culture. Featuring new, provocative arguments and vivid examples ranging across medicine, history, sociology, epidemiology, data science, and genetics, Apollo's Arrow envisions what happens when the great force of a deadly germ meets the enduring reality of our evolved social nature.

Explains the act of prognosis in its varying forms - from the perspective of doctors. This book examines why physicians are reluctant to predict the future, what uses doctors make of prognosis, the symbolism it contains, and the practical and emotional difficulties it involves.

"For too long, scientists have focused on the dark side of our biological heritage: our capacity for aggression, cruelty, prejudice, and self-interest. But natural selection has given us a suite of beneficial social features, including our capacity for love, friendship, cooperation, and learning. Beneath all our inventions--our tools, farms, machines, cities, nations--we carry with us innate proclivities to make a good society. In Blueprint, Nicholas A. Christakis introduces the compelling idea that our genes affect not only our bodies and behaviors, but also the ways in which we make societies, ones that are surprisingly similar worldwide. With many vivid examples--including diverse historical and contemporary cultures, communities formed in the wake of shipwrecks, commune dwellers seeking utopia, online groups thrown together by design or involving artificially intelligent bots, and even the tender and complex social arrangements of elephants and dolphins that so resemble our own--Christakis shows that, despite a human history replete with violence, we cannot escape our social blueprint for goodness. In a world of increasing political and economic polarization, it's tempting to ignore the positive role of our evolutionary past. Drawing on advances in social science, evolutionary biology, genetics, neuroscience, and network science, Blueprint shows how and why evolution has placed us on a humane path--and how we are united by our common humanity."--Jacket

Renowned scientists Christakis and Fowler present compelling evidence for our profound influence on one another's tastes, health, wealth, happiness, beliefs, even weight, as they explain how social networks form and how they operate.

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 Drs. 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.

Dieses Buch kann Ihr Leben verändern -- wenn es jemand liest, den Sie nicht kennen. Ihre politische Einstellung, Ihre Partnerschaft, Ihr Leibesumfang - Sie glauben, das alles bestimmen Sie selbst? Weit gefehlt! Es sind Menschen, die Sie oft nicht mal persönlich kennen - die Freunde eines Freundes eines Freundes -, die Ihr Leben bis ins kleinste Detail maßgeblich beeinflussen. Die international renommierten Wissenschaftler Nicholas A. Christakis und James H. Fowler haben soziale Netzwerke erforscht und zeigen, wie diese unmerklich auf unser Verhalten abfärben. Für ihre Forschungen erschlossen sie die bislang größte Menge an persönlichen Daten, u. a. aus Facebook-Profilen und der Erfassung und Langzeitstudie einer gesamten Kleinstadt. Die Auswertung zeigt: Verhaltensmuster und Gefühle der Menschen sind wie ein Fischschwarm. Nicht ein einzelner Fisch entscheidet, wohin es geht, sondern der Schwarm trifft die Entscheidung. Auf verblüffende, provokante und unterhaltsame Weise zeigen Christakis und Fowler wie groß die Macht sozialer Ansteckung ist.

Wussten Sie, dass Sie das Leben von Leuten, die Sie nicht mal persönlich kennen, maßgeblich beeinflussen können, und zwar bis ins kleinste Detail? Ob die Freunde eines Freundes Ihres Freundes zur Wahl gehen, wen sie wählen, ob sie rauchen, dick oder dünn sind, liegt mit in Ihrer Hand! Die international renommierten Wissenschaftler Nicholas Christakis und James Fowler zeigen, wie sich solche sozialen Netzwerke bilden und wie sie funktionieren. Sie erklären, warum Gefühle ansteckend sind, wie sich gesundheitsbewusstes Verhalten ausbreitet, warum die Reichen reicher werden und wie wir unsere Partner auswählen und finden. Auf verblüffende, provokante und unterhaltsame Weise wird hier ein Paradigmenwechsel vollzogen: Nicht das Individuum, sondern die sozialen Netzwerke formen nahezu alle Aspekte unseres Lebens.