The Social Atom: Why the Rich Get Richer, Cheaters Get Caught, and Your Neighbor Usually Looks Like You.

THE SOCIAL ATOM: Why the Rich Get Richer, Cheaters Get Caught, and Your Neighbor Usually Looks Like You MARK BUCHANAN 

Common wisdom dictates that the laws of physics aren't directly applicable to human behavior. Buchanan begs to disagree. He suggests that to understand people, one must understand patterns--in other words, one must treat people as social atoms whose behaviors can be modeled. From this perspective, the author then explains why some bars are crowded one week and empty the next, why ethnic violence breaks out, and why cheaters, indeed, never win. Buchanan demonstrates that mathematical patterns emerge in a variety of human social phenomena and that by understanding these formulas, we can not only recognize but also predict behavior. He suggests as an example the influence of a magnetic field on a random collection of atoms. One atom's movement can flip a nearby atom, resulting in a cascade wherein the entire collection is unified. People behave much as atoms do, the author asserts: Imitation is a powerful influence on our behavior, whether or not we acknowledge it. Bloomsbury, 2007, 242 p., hardcover, $24.95.