by Lord Omlette.
Created 2003-04-05 239 BMT.
Updated 2003-08-01 871 BMT.
Linked: The New Science of Networks by Albert-László Barabási was enlightening and easy to read. The author examined the history behind nodes and edges in a graph and showed how such things as the spread of Christianity, Kevin Bacon, disease, the Internet, the economy, and terrorism are all related. The book's main idea was that we know too much about the inner workings of the minute details of the universe, yet we have no practical knowledge of how the individual pieces fit together.
The terrorism thing was a bit tenuous and probably thrown in at the last minute, but after reading the rest of the book, it makes sense. Sorta. All of the math was explained in layman's terms; there were no equations that will have you whipping out your calculus textbook or anything. It's quite amazing to see how many of the things we deem 'random' are not in fact random, but simply too complex for us to comprehend unless we know what we're looking for.
Purchase from amazon.com. Alternatively, it is available at the S.C. Williams Library @ Stevens Tech.
ISBN: 0738206679
"Review of Linked: The New Science of Networks" is Copyright © 2003 Lord Omlette. If you know otherwise, hollar.
I like my web servers just like my women...insecure and full of holes waiting to be exploited.
-mcmonkey
-added 2003-01-13