This groundbreaking book explains prognosis from the perspective of doctors, examining why physicians are reluctant to predict the future, how doctors use prognosis, the symbolism it contains, and the emotional difficulties it involves. Drawing on his experiences as a doctor and sociologist, Nicholas Christakis interviewed scores of physicians and searched dozens of medical textbooks and medical school curricula for discussions of prognosis in an attempt to get to the core of this nebulous medical issue that, despite its importance, is only partially understood and rarely discussed. "Highly recommended for everyone from patients wrestling with their personal prognosis to any medical practitioner touched by this bioethical dilemma."—Library Journal, starred review "[T]he first full general discussion of prognosis ever written. . . . [A] manifesto for a form of prognosis that's equal parts prediction-an assessment of likely outcomes based on statistical averages-and prophecy, an intuition of what lies ahead."—Jeff Sharlet, Chicago Reader "[S]ophisticated, extraordinarily well supported, and compelling. . . . [Christakis] argues forcefully that the profession must take responsibility for the current widespread avoidance of prognosis and change the present culture. This prophet is one whose advice we would do well to heed."—James Tulsky, M.D., New England Journal of Medicine

Death Foretold: Prophecy and Prognosis in Medical Care

Politics & Social Sciences

Christakis, Nicholas A.

Sociology

University of Chicago Press

This groundbreaking book explains prognosis from the perspective of doctors, examining why physicians are reluctant to predict the future, how doctors use prognosis, the symbolism it contains, and the emotional difficulties it involves. Drawing on his experiences as a doctor and sociologist, Nicholas Christakis interviewed scores of physicians and searched dozens of medical textbooks and medical school curricula for discussions of prognosis in an attempt to get to the core of this nebulous medical issue that, despite its importance, is only partially understood and rarely discussed. "Highly recommended for everyone from patients wrestling with their personal prognosis to any medical practitioner touched by this bioethical dilemma."—Library Journal, starred review "[T]he first full general discussion of prognosis ever written. . . . [A] manifesto for a form of prognosis that's equal parts prediction-an assessment of likely outcomes based on statistical averages-and prophecy, an intuition of what lies ahead."—Jeff Sharlet, Chicago Reader "[S]ophisticated, extraordinarily well supported, and compelling. . . . [Christakis] argues forcefully that the profession must take responsibility for the current widespread avoidance of prognosis and change the present culture. This prophet is one whose advice we would do well to heed."—James Tulsky, M.D., New England Journal of Medicine

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. But by exploring the ancient roots of goodness in civilization, Blueprint shows that our genes have shaped societies for our welfare and that, in a feedback loop stretching back many thousands of years, societies have shaped, and are still shaping, our genes today.

Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society

Biographies & Memoirs

Little, Brown, US

Connected will forever change the way we look at one another -- and at ourselves- Happiness is contagious.
- Your future spouse is likely to be your friend's friend. 
 - Your friends' friends' friends can make you fat -- or thin. 
These are just a few of the startling findings of internationally renowned scientists Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler. In Connected, they present intriguing new evidence that our real-life social networks shape virtually every aspect of our lives. How we feel, whom we marry, whether we fall ill, how much money we make, and whether we vote -- everything hinges on what others around us are doing, thinking, and feeling.
Connected shows that our world is governed by the Three Degrees Rule -- we influence and are influenced by people up to three degrees removed from us, most of whom we do not even know. For example, your friend's friend's friend has more impact on your happiness than $5,000 in your pocket. Our social networks underlie financial scams, eating disorders, substance abuse, and suicide clusters, but also voter turnout, innovation, altruism, and "random" acts of kindness.
Provocative, insightful, and useful, Connected explains why emotions are contagious, how health behaviors spread, why the rich get richer, and much more. Overturning the notion of the primacy of the individual, Connected provides a revolutionary new paradigm -- that, like schools of fish changing direction in unison, we are consciously and unconsciously led by the people around us..

Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives

Fowler, James H.

Social Sciences

Simon & Schuster Audio

En los últimos años sitios como Facebook, Twitter o MySpace han disparado tanto la información sobre las redes sociales como el deseo de entenderlas. Sin embargo, pocos conocen en realidad cómo se forman y actúan. Conectados presenta una novedosa concepción de las redes sociales humanas basada en descubrimientos recientes en campos tan dispares como la genética, las matemáticas, la psicología o la sociología, y es el primer libro que se centra en explicar su origen y funcionamiento; desde cómo los genes determinan su estructura a cómo se propagan en ellas fenómenos tan diversos como la obesidad y la felicidad. Gracias a las originales investigaciones de Christakis y Fowler, este libro ofrece resultados empíricos reveladores sobre una gran variedad de actividades humanas, y explora los efectos concretos que las redes sociales tienen en la vida diaria de la gente —en su salud, sus finanzas, su comportamiento religioso, político o sexual, e incluso en sus gustos sobre música arte o cine—. El resultado es un nuevo modo de concebir la vida social y un fascinante, y con frecuencia sorprendente, análisis de las redes sociales que nos revela por qué los ricos se hacen más ricos, cómo se originan las estampidas mortales, por qué tu salud depende de la salud de quienes te rodean, por qué imitamos a los demás incluso en actos extremos como el asesinato o el suicidio, o por qué la gente adopta los patrones de alimentación de los amigos de sus amigos. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Conectados presents intriguing new evidence that our real-life social networks shape virtually every aspect of our lives. How we feel, whom we marry, whether we fall ill, how much money we make, and whether we vote —everything hinges on what others around us are doing, thinking, and feeling. It shows that we influence and are influenced by people up to three degrees removed from us, most of whom we do not even know.

Conectados (Spanish Edition)

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Psychology & Counseling

Taurus

Madrid. 24 cm. 354 p., [8] p. de lám. col. il. Encuadernación en tapa blanda de editorial ilustrada. Colección 'Pensamiento'. Traducción de Amado Diéguez, Laura Vidal y Eduardo Schmid. Índice. Título original: Connected. Redes sociales en Internet. Fowler, James H .. Este libro es de segunda mano y tiene o puede tener marcas y señales de su anterior propietario. ISBN: 978-84-306-0688-7

Conectados

Professionals & Academics

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Christakis, Nicholas A.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Christakis, Nicholas A.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Christakis, Nicholas A.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Death Foretold: Prophecy and Prognosis in Medical Care

Death Foretold: Prophecy and Prognosis in Medical Care

Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society

Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives

Conectados (Spanish Edition)

Conectados