Lydia Denworth: “Friendship”
PageTurners Reading Series welcomes Lydia Denworth to discuss Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond.
FRIENDSHIP: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond is a fascinating investigation of the science and history of friendship and the profound biological, psychological, and emotional underpinnings of this core human (and nonhuman) experience. Celebrated science journalist Lydia Denworth traces the development of the “social brain” from prehistoric life on the African savannas to the contemporary virtual networks of Facebook.
Armed with individual genetic propensities and a complex, extended development of our social brains from infancy through childhood and adolescence, humans have a unique and marvelous capacity for extreme forms of cooperation and a pervasive drive to form and maintain lasting relationships beyond those of kin. Recent studies and groundbreaking research are revealing just how critical friendship is to the experience of human life, as well as the severe physical toll and psychological danger of loneliness.
Denworth’s warm and personable style coupled with in-depth research that encompasses history, biology, neuroscience, genetics, sociology, and epidemiology makes clear that humans are uniquely designed for connection and compassion. FRIENDSHIP is science writing at its best: a nuanced consideration of the visible and invisible aspects of friendship that moves seamlessly between the grand perspectives of evolutionary history (as evidenced by rhesus macaque monkey and baboon behavior) and today’s cutting-edge neuroscience labs (where scientists are exploring the intricate, cellular truths hidden in the bumps and folds of the brain). What results is a provocative and profound testament to the connection between social relationships and personal health. As we come to better appreciate the critical importance of social behavior and personal connection, the hope is that a deeper understanding of friendship’s biology and evolution will bring us closer to knowing fully what it means to be human.
Lydia Denworth is a Brooklyn-based science journalist whose work is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. A contributing writer for Scientific American and Psychology Today, she has also written for the Atlantic and the New York Times.
The presentation will be in Brooklyn, inside Understudy, the bar adjacent to the Main Stage area at DeKalb Market Hall, the largest food hall in New York City.
Easy access via the B, D, Q, 2, 3, A, or C trains.
445 ALBEE SQUARE WEST, BROOKLYN, NY 11201
Free!
(Come for the authors, but, check out the cornucopia of amazing food options at The Market Hall!)
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