Social Networking

Jonah Lehrer at The Frontal Cortex interviews two authors of a new study on one’s relative place in a social network. Is it better to be at the center of a group of people or more on the periphery? It depends on whether the group is offering the seasonal flu or job opportunities, say the authors: “If a deadly germ is flowing through the network, it would be better to be on the edge of the network and/or to have few or no friends. A hermit cannot get a communicable disease. On the other hand, if a valuable piece of information is flowing through the network (e.g., about how to find a job), then it is better to be in the middle of the network, and/or to have more friends.”