Why is it that the pain of rejection in High School often stays with us for life?  Not being asked to the prom, not making the team, or that first broken heart. All seem to imprint us in ways that scar us for life.  

And what is the connection between those experiences and our seeming insatiable appetite for social networks?  As we look at the evolution of technology, from cave paintings to the printing press to the telephone to Facebook and Twitter, all are advancing the effort to connect.  

Maybe, we need to reassess  Maslow's hierarchy of needs, in a way that makes social connection as important to our well being as food, clothing and shelter?

Neuroscientist Matthew Liberman has been studying this and in Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect has come to some very powerful conclusions.

My conversation with Matthew Liberman: