{"id":1031,"date":"2010-02-12T03:01:17","date_gmt":"2010-02-12T03:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/book-review-connected-by-nicholas-a-christakis-and-james-h-fowler.html"},"modified":"2010-02-12T03:01:17","modified_gmt":"2010-02-12T03:01:17","slug":"book-review-connected-by-nicholas-a-christakis-and-james-h-fowler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/02\/book-review-connected-by-nicholas-a-christakis-and-james-h-fowler.html","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Connected, by Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>I recently finished a fascinating book: Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives<\/em><\/a>. It was written by two top scholars, Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler. Christakis is a medical doctor and sociologist who teaches at Harvard. Fowler is a political scientist who teaches at the University of California, San Diego. Christakis and Fowler wrote Connected<\/em> for non-specialists, and, as non-specialist, I was able to follow their argument. At times, however, I felt a bit swamped by academic studies and details. I wish their editor had put about a hundred pages into the footnotes.
\nHaving said that, I must add that Connected<\/em> is mostly quite readable and engaging.\u00a0 At times its conclusions are rather obvious. I didn’t need two sociology professors to tell me that my choice of a spouse was greatly influenced by my social network. Yet Connected<\/em> demonstrates in considerable detail that much of our life is impacted by our networks of relationships, much more than we might realize.
\nTo give you a flavor of the book, I’ll quote some significant passages.
\nPassages from Connected<\/em>: <\/strong>
\nThe key to understanding people is understanding the ties between them; therefore, it was to the ties that we turned our focus. (KL 67-68, KL = Kindle location)
\nSeeing ourselves as part of a superorganism allows us to understand our actions, choices, and experiences in a new light. (KL 81-82)
\nThis book focuses on our ties to others and how they affect emotions, sex, health, politics, money, evolution, and technology. But most of all it is about what makes us uniquely human. To know who we are, we must understand how we are connected. (KL 95-97)
\nHumans deliberately make and remake their social networks all the time. The primary example of this is homophily, the conscious or unconscious tendency to associate with people who resemble us (the word literally means \u201clove of being alike\u201d). (KL 308-310)
\n. . . the spread of influence in social networks obeys what we call the Three Degrees of Influence Rule. Everything we do or say tends to ripple through our network, having an impact on our friends (one degree), our friends\u2019 friends (two degrees), and even our friends\u2019 friends\u2019 friends (three degrees). Our influence gradually dissipates and ceases to have a noticeable effect on people beyond the social frontier that lies at three degrees of separation. Likewise, we are influenced by friends within three degrees but generally not by those beyond. (KL 485-488)
\nSocial networks have value precisely because they can help us to achieve what we could not achieve on our own. (KL 532-533)
\nBecause we are so sure of our individual power to make decisions, we lose sight of the extraordinary degree to which our choice of a partner is determined by our surroundings and, in particular, by our social network. (KL 1049-1050)
\nWhether influential people can exercise influence at all may depend entirely on the precise structure of the network in which they find themselves, something over which they have limited control. (KL 2126-2128)
\nA Theological Reflection<\/strong>
\nConnected<\/em> is not a book of theology, though it does invite theological reflection. I want to offer a bit of this in response to a passage cited above. Here it is, once again:<\/p>\n

This book focuses on our ties to others and how they affect emotions, sex, health, politics, money, evolution, and technology. But most of all it is about what makes us uniquely human. To know who we are, we must understand how we are connected. (KL 95-97)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Christakis and Fowler argue that what makes us uniquely human has everything to do with our connections, our relationships. One could make this same argument from Scripture. Consider the creation of human beings in Genesis 1 and 2. In Genesis 1, “man” is created in God’s image as “male and female.” Man is, essentially, in relationship. Then, in Genesis 2, the creation of people is described from a different perspective. First, God creates a male being, the man. But then God says that it is not good for the man to be alone. So God creates a woman as a partner for the man. If the author of Genesis were a sociologist, we might rather have read, “To know who we are, we must understand how we are connected.”
\nThere is more in Connected<\/em> upon which I wish to comment, and will do so in an upcoming blog post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently finished a fascinating book: Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives. It was written by two top scholars, Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler. Christakis is a medical doctor and sociologist who teaches at Harvard. Fowler is a political scientist who teaches at the University…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holy-week-easter"],"yoast_head":"\nBook Review: Connected, by Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler - Mark D. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1031\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}