Linked


What does a plague, a terrorist cell, your group of friends, your brain, and a good marketing plan have in common? They are all are networks, and all are part of a surprising scientific revolution. That's because, from the largest to the smallest, embedded in biology, software, groups of social connections, or hardware, scale free networks follow precise mathematical laws, called power laws. Mathematics can be used to predict the particulars of any network, including the d20 phenomena--a few highly connected nodes, called hubs (wizards being the largest d20 hub), serve as the core of any network. The largest hub or hubs are followed by several smaller hubs (Malhavoc being one), which then fall away into many, many, many far smaller nodes. It couldn't be any other way, according to the mathematics. It's crazy stuff.



I just finished with this fabulous book, Linked , which describes what I just said and more (though it doesn't specifically treat the RPG community), and it was a real eye opener. Actually, I just finished listening to it via my account at Audible.com.

Here is some more information on the book:

Now, for the first time, a scientist whose own work has transformed the study of "links and nodes" takes us inside the unfolding network revolution. Albert-Laszlo Barabasi traces the fascinating history of connected systems, beginning with mathematician Leonhard Euler's first forays into graph theory in the late 1700s and culminating in biologists' development of cancer drugs based on a new understanding of cellular networks.

Combining narrative flare with sparkling insights, Barabasi introduces us to the myriad modern-day "cartographers" mapping networks in a range of scientific disciplines. Aided by powerful computers, they are proving that social networks, corporations, and cells are more similar than they are different. Their discoveries provide an important new perspective on the interconnected world around us.

Linked reveals how Google came to be the Internet's most popular search engine, how Vernon Jordan's social network affects the entire American economy, what it would take to bring down a terrorist organization like al Qaeda, and why an obscure finding of Einstein's could change the way we look at the networks in our own lives. Understanding the structure and behavior of networks will forever alter our world, allowing us to design the "perfect" business or stop a disease outbreak before it goes global.

The most informative book I've ever read.

Posted: Sun - June 1, 2003 at 09:05 PM          

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