Posted on Categories Discover Magazine
Strange Contagion: Inside the Surprising Science of Infectious Behaviors and Viral Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves
By Lee Daniel Kravetz
After moving to Silicon Valley, science writer and new father Kravetz investigates a rash of suicides by teenagers in his community. He juxtaposes his personal journey into parenthood with the worries and rumors in the neighborhood about what led to the deaths. Using his background in psychology, Kravetz probes how humans’ inherent mimicry and social nature can create dangerously contagious behavior. His gripping narrative has the tension of a thriller, but the stories he shares are tragically real.