Academic discussion of loneliness and social connection without actionable leads

to others are weakening and to motivate the repair and maintenance of the connections to others that are needed for our health and well being as for the survival of our genes (27). Physical pain is an aversive signal that evolved to motivate one to take action that minimizes damage to one’s body. Loneliness is an aversive signal that evolved to motivate one to take action that minimizes damage to one’s social body. People differ dispositionally in their sensitivity to the pain of social disconnection (1.e., feelings of loneliness; 28) just as people differ in sensitivity to physical pain. Ostracism or objective isolation in most species is associated with an early death (29). In humans, the chronic feeling of social isolation, even when the person remains among the protective embrace of others, is associated with significant mental and physical disorders (30). Chronic hunger, thirst, and pain can also have deleterious effects for, like loneliness, their adaptive value lies in their effects as acute signals, not as chronic conditions. The opposite of feeling hunger, thirst, pain, or loneliness is feeling normal, and this is the state in which most people exist most of the time. The social connections formed by humans need not be based on genetic similarities. The human species has evolved the capacity for and motivation to form relationships not only with other individuals but also with groups (e.g., a Chicago Cubs or Boston Red Sox fan) and nonhuman entities (e.g., through anthropomorphism, 3/). Team spirit and school spirit are familiar notions, and although team or school spirit refers to an invisible influence, it is an invisible influence that is no less open to rigorous scientific inquiry than are the invisible Page |26 influences of gravity or magnetic flux. In the cases of team and school spirit, this influence represents a specific form of social connection between an individual and an emergent structure. Perceived social connections are abstractions that can transcend time and space. People may feel a connection with their ancestors or family heritage even if they are the only remaining descendant, just as people can perceive personal connections with pets, cars, television characters, celebrities, and unseen spiritual entities with whom they do not actually interact. A potent component of spirituality (that does not depend on a specific religion) is the feeling of connection and purpose that come from forming a relationship with a higher being. A simple byproduct of our selfish genes and social brains may be our search for meaning in and connection with broader organizations or beings. Conclusion In 1939, the astrophysicist Sir Arthur Eddington published a book entitled The Philosophy of physical science (32). In it he describes a hypothetical scientist who sought to determine the size of the various fish in the sea. The scientist began by weaving a 2-inch mesh net and setting sail across the seas, repeatedly sampling catches and carefully measuring, recording, and analyzing the results of each catch. After extensive sampling, the scientist concluded that there were no fish smaller than two inches in the sea. The moral of Sir Eddington's analogy is twofold. First, scientific instruments are shaped by people’s intuitive theories of the phenomena to be investigated. Second, once developed, scientific expectations and instruments shape data and theory in ways more powerfully and fundamentally than are often appreciated. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021272