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suzukabunny's review against another edition
5.0
Introducing one approach to recognize and studying diseases and ideas
benrogerswpg's review against another edition
3.0
Spread The Contagion
This was an interesting book on "viral" spread.
I thought it had a nice interplay with how COVID spread from its original epicenter.
Learned lots about different things, like ideas and many other models.
I would sooner recommend [b:Contagious: Why Things Catch On|15801967|Contagious Why Things Catch On|Jonah Berger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1376783352l/15801967._SY75_.jpg|21525361], but this was good enough!
3.7/5
This was an interesting book on "viral" spread.
I thought it had a nice interplay with how COVID spread from its original epicenter.
Learned lots about different things, like ideas and many other models.
I would sooner recommend [b:Contagious: Why Things Catch On|15801967|Contagious Why Things Catch On|Jonah Berger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1376783352l/15801967._SY75_.jpg|21525361], but this was good enough!
3.7/5
gfwaffles's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
cancermoononhigh's review
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
I really enjoyed this book, especially in this crazy ass time period.
*Malaria is the oldest disease known to humanity. It may have been with us for our entire history. The name comes from Italy, meaning "bad air"
*In the 16th century the English believed syphilis came from France and referred it to the "French pox." In Russia it was known as the polish disease, in Poland it was known as Turkish and in Turkey it was known as a Chistian disease.
*From HIV/AIDS to Ebola blame, and the fear of blame, has pushed many outbreaks out of view. Suspension around a disease can result in many patients and their family being shunned by local community.
*The SARS epidemic resulted in 8 thousand cases, several hundred deaths and cost $40 billion dollars globally. That figure is not just the direct cost of treating the patients but also the economic impact of closed workplaces, hotels and cancelled trade.
*Winter flu epidemics are mostly caused by H1N1 and H3N2. These viruses gradually evolve as they circulate, causing the shape of the proteins to change. This means our immune system no longer recognizes the mutated virus as a threat. We have annual flu shots because our bodies are playing a cat and mouse game with the flu.
*Virus like measles evolve slowly
*"Tulip Mania" gripped the Netherlands in the 1630s. Rich and poor alike poured money and more money into flowers, tulip bulbs were going for the price of houses.
*When multiple banks invest in the same asset it creates a potential route of transmission between them. If a crisis hits one bank and one bank starts selling off its assets, it will affect the other firms who hold these investments. The more the largest banks diversify their investments, the more opportunities for shared contagion. Diversification can destabilize the wider network.
*If bankers started hoarding money when they lost confidence in the system, it could exacerbate a crisis; banks that would otherwise have had enough capital to ride it out would instead fail. It isn't just about banks being "too big to fail" it's more about them being "too central to fail."
*Open plan offices reduced face to face interactions by around 70%. People chose to communicate by email, increasing by 50% in those offices.
*Certain aspects of behavior are consistent around the world. People tend to mix with people of the similar age, with children having by far the most contacts. Interactions in schools and t home typically involve physical contact and encounters that occur on a daily basis often last longer than an hour. Hong Kong residents have physical contact with 5 other people a day; the UK is similar. In Italy the average resident has physical contact with 10 people a day.
*In the US people without children in their house typically spend a few weeks of the year with infected viruses; with one child have an infection for about a third of the year; and those with two children will on average carry viruses more often than not.
*Loneliness can spread through social contacts. People have fewer friends which makes them lonely, but it also drives them to cut the few ties that they have left. Before they cut those ties, they tend to transmit the same feeling of loneliness to their remaining friends.
*In yawn experiments the nature of social relationships have proved particularly important for transmission; the better we know someone the more likely we will catch their yawn. A family member catches the yawn half the time. Social yawning doesn't become contagious until the age of 4. Similar social yawning can occur among animals from monkeys to wolfs.
*Folk stories are useful because they tell a product of their society. Folk stories belong to everyone in the community. Folktales have historically been spoken, not written down which means historical records are shallow and patchy. Stories such as Rumpelstiltskin and Beauty and the Beast have been around for 4,000 years.
*The debate on crime still focuses on bad people. People with a history involving violence will not have a violent future based on that stat alone. Number of factors going into such as backgrounds, lifestyles and social interactions all can increase a violent encounter.
*In 1978 a study was done in both British and American newspapers that when they ran a front-page news story about suicide the number of such deaths in the local area tended to increase immediately afterwards. Other studies have found similar patterns with media reports suggesting that suicide can be transmitted. When Robin Williams committed suicide, it was the largest increase in suicides occurred in middle aged men using the same method as Williams.
*Three things needed to stop epidemic, an evidence base, a method for implementation and a political will. When it comes to gun violence the US has struggled with the first step. The CDC has done very little research in the past two decades.
*The data between 1976 and 2016 the number of deaths from overdose grew exponentially during this period, the death rate doubling every 10 years. The consistency of growth pattern was surprising given how much drug use has changed over the decades.
*In 2012 the Chicago Police Dept introduced a strategic subjects list, SSL, to predict who might be involved in a shooting. The database held information as age, gang affiliations and prior arrests.
*Malaria is the oldest disease known to humanity. It may have been with us for our entire history. The name comes from Italy, meaning "bad air"
*In the 16th century the English believed syphilis came from France and referred it to the "French pox." In Russia it was known as the polish disease, in Poland it was known as Turkish and in Turkey it was known as a Chistian disease.
*From HIV/AIDS to Ebola blame, and the fear of blame, has pushed many outbreaks out of view. Suspension around a disease can result in many patients and their family being shunned by local community.
*The SARS epidemic resulted in 8 thousand cases, several hundred deaths and cost $40 billion dollars globally. That figure is not just the direct cost of treating the patients but also the economic impact of closed workplaces, hotels and cancelled trade.
*Winter flu epidemics are mostly caused by H1N1 and H3N2. These viruses gradually evolve as they circulate, causing the shape of the proteins to change. This means our immune system no longer recognizes the mutated virus as a threat. We have annual flu shots because our bodies are playing a cat and mouse game with the flu.
*Virus like measles evolve slowly
*"Tulip Mania" gripped the Netherlands in the 1630s. Rich and poor alike poured money and more money into flowers, tulip bulbs were going for the price of houses.
*When multiple banks invest in the same asset it creates a potential route of transmission between them. If a crisis hits one bank and one bank starts selling off its assets, it will affect the other firms who hold these investments. The more the largest banks diversify their investments, the more opportunities for shared contagion. Diversification can destabilize the wider network.
*If bankers started hoarding money when they lost confidence in the system, it could exacerbate a crisis; banks that would otherwise have had enough capital to ride it out would instead fail. It isn't just about banks being "too big to fail" it's more about them being "too central to fail."
*Open plan offices reduced face to face interactions by around 70%. People chose to communicate by email, increasing by 50% in those offices.
*Certain aspects of behavior are consistent around the world. People tend to mix with people of the similar age, with children having by far the most contacts. Interactions in schools and t home typically involve physical contact and encounters that occur on a daily basis often last longer than an hour. Hong Kong residents have physical contact with 5 other people a day; the UK is similar. In Italy the average resident has physical contact with 10 people a day.
*In the US people without children in their house typically spend a few weeks of the year with infected viruses; with one child have an infection for about a third of the year; and those with two children will on average carry viruses more often than not.
*Loneliness can spread through social contacts. People have fewer friends which makes them lonely, but it also drives them to cut the few ties that they have left. Before they cut those ties, they tend to transmit the same feeling of loneliness to their remaining friends.
*In yawn experiments the nature of social relationships have proved particularly important for transmission; the better we know someone the more likely we will catch their yawn. A family member catches the yawn half the time. Social yawning doesn't become contagious until the age of 4. Similar social yawning can occur among animals from monkeys to wolfs.
*Folk stories are useful because they tell a product of their society. Folk stories belong to everyone in the community. Folktales have historically been spoken, not written down which means historical records are shallow and patchy. Stories such as Rumpelstiltskin and Beauty and the Beast have been around for 4,000 years.
*The debate on crime still focuses on bad people. People with a history involving violence will not have a violent future based on that stat alone. Number of factors going into such as backgrounds, lifestyles and social interactions all can increase a violent encounter.
*In 1978 a study was done in both British and American newspapers that when they ran a front-page news story about suicide the number of such deaths in the local area tended to increase immediately afterwards. Other studies have found similar patterns with media reports suggesting that suicide can be transmitted. When Robin Williams committed suicide, it was the largest increase in suicides occurred in middle aged men using the same method as Williams.
*Three things needed to stop epidemic, an evidence base, a method for implementation and a political will. When it comes to gun violence the US has struggled with the first step. The CDC has done very little research in the past two decades.
*The data between 1976 and 2016 the number of deaths from overdose grew exponentially during this period, the death rate doubling every 10 years. The consistency of growth pattern was surprising given how much drug use has changed over the decades.
*In 2012 the Chicago Police Dept introduced a strategic subjects list, SSL, to predict who might be involved in a shooting. The database held information as age, gang affiliations and prior arrests.
zhzhang's review against another edition
3.0
This book is easy to read and it explains the concept of contagion, more than just pandemic, well, COVID-19. Yet, I do not see any novelty, though the examples used in this book are quite impressive.
maya_loves_2read's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely mix of things going viral in the technology as well as medical field . Totally recommended reading !