A scientist and thinker, in 2009 Nicholas Christakis was named in Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Using data from a study that tracked about 5,000 people over 20 years, he suggests that happiness, like the flu, can spread from person to person. He found that smoking and obesity can be socially infectious too.
In a viral video taken from Yale University, Nicholas is captured defending the most fundamental principle of higher education: that the university should serve as a place of free inquiry where individuals can respectfully engage with one another in the pursuit of knowledge. This event gained so much notoriety in both academic and non-academic circles, that even The Simpsons found fun in the event in one of their later episodes.
The title of this episode was inspired by Nicholas' book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apollos-Arrow-Profound-Enduring-Coronavirus/dp/0316628212
