We will create life from inanimate compounds, and we will find life in space. But the life that should more immediately interest us lies between these extremes, in the middle range we all inhabit between our genes and our stars. Nicholas A. Christakis compoundcreateextreme share on social
Social media and the Internet haven't changed our capacity for social interaction any more than the Internet has changed our ability to be in love or our basic propensity to violence, because those are such fundamental human attributes. Nicholas A. Christakis abilityattributebasic share on social
We are, first of all, not solitary creatures and second of all, we are deeply embedded in the lives of others. It's very easy to forget that and to engage in an atomistic fallacy - where we think that all we have to do is study the individual components of a system in order to understand the system. Nicholas A. Christakis atomisticcomponentcreature share on social
We and others have done a bunch of work to show that if your real friends online say or do something, it affects you. But if your acquaintances online say or do something, it does not. People on average have about 106 Facebook friends, but only 5 or 6 real friends. Nicholas A. Christakis acquaintanceaffectaverage share on social
The reason we form networks is because the benefits of a connected life outweigh the costs. It's to our advantage as individuals and a species to assemble ourselves in this fashion. Nicholas A. Christakis advantageassemblebenefit Change image and share on social
I like to have met someone in real life before being their Facebook friend. Nicholas A. Christakis facebookfriendlife Change image and share on social