Your colleague's husband's sister can make you fat, even if you don't know her. A happy neighbor has more impact on your happiness than a happy spouse. These startling revelations of how much we truly influence each other are revealed in the studies of doctors Christakis and Fowler, which have repeatedly made front page news nationwide. Their work shows us that six degrees of separation is a notion of the past. We all follow what Christakis and Fowler call the 'Three Degrees Rule:' We are profoundly influenced by people up to three degrees from us. In CONNECTED, the authors explain why emotions are contagious, how health behaviors spread, why the rich get richer, even how we find and choose our partners. Intriguing and entertaining, CONNECTED overturns the notion of the individual and provides a revolutionary paradigm&x2010;that social networks influence our ideas, emotions, health, relationships, behavior, politics, and much more. CONNECTED will change the way we think about every aspect of our lives.