Social Intelligence

Am *trying* to read this book by Daniel Goleman. Not an easy book to read (for me) as this book isn't as engaging and with an oft-wandering mind, I get distracted from the pages very easily :P

Still into the very first few pages of the book but found some interesting snippets that I just wanted to record down (to help me through my though process & also to help etched some of these into memory). Most of these are just the gist of what is said, and hopefully i'm representing them as accurately as I can ... if you are interested, pls read the book! :)

1. Mirror Neurons. "They reflect back an action we observe in someone else, making us mimic that action or have the impulse to do so" Think : When you are smiling, the whole world smiles with you. And you don't have to act to activate that mirror neuron, merely observing it can trigger the same neurons.
   What this means is that simulating an act (i.e. mentally rehearsing an action), is the same as performing it.
   


2. Meme. "Ideas that spread from mind to mind, much as emtions do". The notion of a meme was modeled on that of a gene: an entity that replicates itself by getting passed on from person to person". Anyway, what this means is explained in the form of surprising synchronicities between people. When such synchronicities happen, it feels like someone has read your mind. "Parallel trains of thought can lead two people to think, do , or say virtually the same thing at the same moment." "When we know someone well or experience strong rapport, conditions are near optimal for a confluence of our internal thoughts, feelings, perceptions and memories. We are in what amounts to a mind-meld where we tend to perceive, think, and feel in the same way as the other person. Such convergence goes on even when strangers become friends".


3. Altruism. The book cites an example where someone was in trouble but people passing by just walked right past, not even giving a hoot until someone stopped to look. Once someone stopped, others followed and in no time, this poor chap was tended to and provided the assistance he needed. So a critical factor at play in altruism is simply taking time to pay attention. "Our empathy is strongest to the degree we fully focus on someone and so loop emotionally"
   

That's all I can gather for now. Let me continue to try and read the book ....