Plays Well with Others: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Relationships Is (Mostly) Wrong
by Eric Barker
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55:31
Video interview with author + audience Q&A in Talks at Google format
10K
203
Dec, 2022
Spoiler:
With apologies to spouses, the author asserts that the relationships that most fulfill us, sustain us, and improve the quality of our lives are friendships. However, he calls friendships “fragile” in that, unlike marriage, we don’t have an institution backing them up. Barker urges us to protect these fragile connections, asserting that the stress hormone increase caused by loneliness is the physical equivalent of an assault. Interviewer Nick Krasney of Google questions the author extensively about how to form and maintain friendships.
2:07
Author gives brief introduction to relationship book + photos
637
11
Nov, 2022
Spoiler:
Citing Freud’s statement that “Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness,” the author notes that while his previous book was about work, he wanted to address the other half of Freud’s thought with a book on relationships. Assuming that most of us want to have better relationships and a more enriching social life, he promises to teach us how in his new book. He cites a few studies that claim that fulfilling relationships can add up to a decade to our lives.
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