导航我们的社交世界

The same brain areas that help us map physical space help us chart social connections BY ORIEL FELDMANHALL W HAT DO SOCIAL CLIMBERS and gossipmongers have in common? My mother would tell me that both are morally suspect. This moral umbrage is etched into lessons from fairy tales and scripture that we readily pass on to our children: avoid the schemer and the whisperer. But stories are known to simplify reality. The truth is that the most effective gossipers and social climbers possess a re- markable grasp of social structure, knowledge they use to cleverly navigate their social worlds. This skill isn’t a moral failing; it’s a cognitive feat. …