We're Wired to Connect

[January & February 2007 - AARP The Magazine] Our brains are designed to be social, says bestselling science writer Daniel Goleman -- and they catch emotions the same way we catch colds. ... Have you ever wondered why a stranger’s smile can transform your entire day? Why your eyes mist up when you see someone crying, and the sight of a yawn can leave you exhausted? Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., has wondered, too, and just as he helped revolutionize our definition of what it means to be smart with his 1995 blockbuster, Emotional Intelligence, the two-time Pulitzer nominee and former science reporter for The New York Times has dropped a bombshell on our understanding of human connection in his startling new book, Social Intelligence. More