Being an Outlier

According to Malcom Gladwell in the Outliers, the town Rosetta was so healthy because of the interactions each person had with others. It never really occurred to me how important social interaction could be pertaining to physical health. I mean, I usually say hi to people in the hallways and all but I never understood how just that little gesture could completely alter a person's mindset and thus their health. Why is it this way? From an evolutionary psychologists standpoint, humans found that being in groups was more beneficial in getting food, hunting, gathering, REPRODUCING, you name it. There was an evolutionary quality to being well liked, clearly. That is precisely how our species got this massive. Also, notice the fact that a marker of depression is when someone is lonely. People are happiest when they can interact with one-another in a comfortable environment. The reason the people of Rosetta are so healthy is that they have each other. Socially, three generations live under one roof. They all go to work together. They live in their own little social "bubble" in the mountains where life goes on in a slow pace. They thrive on company- after all, they're Italian. The people of the town have figured out how to live a long, happy, life. In the US and around the world, they are an outlier. We all need to be like the people of Rosetta. Maybe then the most common cause of death would be nothing but old age.

It's a good fantasy, anyway.

Yours truly,

Jessie