Small Worlds The Dynamics of Networks Between Order and Randomness

by Duncan J. Watts

This book is a must for social scientists interested in networks, decision-making and organizational design.

Genres: Mathematics, Science, Sociology, Social Science, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published August 23, 1999

About the author

Duncan Watts is a principal researcher at Microsoft Research and a founding member of the MSR-NYC lab. From 2000-2007, he was a professor of Sociology at Columbia University, and then, prior to joining Microsoft, a principal research scientist at Yahoo! Research, where he directed the Human Social Dynamics group . He has also served on the external faculty of the Santa Fe Institute and is currently a visiting fellow at Columbia University and at Nuffield College, Oxford.

His research on social networks and collective dynamics has appeared in a wide range of journals, from Nature, Science, and Physical Review Letters to the American Journal of Sociology and Harvard Business Review. He is also the author of Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age (W.W. Norton, 2003) and Small Worlds: The Dynamics of Networks between Order and Randomness (Princeton University Press, 1999).

He holds a B.Sc. in Physics from the Australian Defence Force Academy, from which he also received his officer’s commission in the Royal Australian Navy, and a Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether you're a "flat Stanley" fan, interested to see if Kevin Bacon was ever the center of the movie universe, or an aficionado of six degrees of separation as a play or life, you might as well learn about the science and math responsible.

A fun and interesting read.

[Mangoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Negli ultimi anni la teoria delle reti sta suscitando un interesse notevole e ramificato. Sebbene le sue radici siano antiche e buona parte della sua matematica si basi sulla teoria dei grafi, nuove interessanti e profonde scoperte si stanno succedendo a ritmi assai sostenuti, con applicazioni assai disparate ed innovative.
Una delle prime scoperte recenti fu quella delle reti di mondo piccolo, caratterizzate dall'avere un diametro piccolo pur essendo molto clusterizzate. Queste reti hanno proprieta' a meta' strada tra i grafi random e i cristalli.
In "Small worlds" Watts esplora il percorso logico e matematico che lo ha portato ad approfondire la conoscenza di queste reti. Nella prima parte del libro al lettore, di cui non si presuppone se non una generale conoscenza di semplice matematica, vengono fornite le definizioni di teoria dei grafi e le statistiche necessarie a comprendere la struttura delle reti, quindi vengono proposti diversi modelli per la costruzione di reti. Abbondanti simulazioni numeriche sono usate per studiarne la struttura e il comportamento a grandi dimensioni (scaling), dimostrando che solo alcune posso essere definite small world.
Nella seconda parte i risultati si applicano alla dinamica di alcuni selezionati sistemi complessi (diffusione di virus, cooperazione, oscillatori accoppiati, automi cellulari), dimostrando che la topologia anche solo qualitative delle connessioni all'interno di ciascuno di questi sistemi ne influenza sostanzialmente la dinamica. I risultati sono molto affascinanti e aprono ulteriori campi di indagine.
Un testo consigliato a chi ha gia' letto altri testi divulgativi a riguardo ma vuole avere piu' sostanza matematica tra le mani.

[Willa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was hard to decide on a rating for this one. On the one hand, I really can't imagine the general public getting much anything from it-- it's far too technical. On the other hand, if you have a degree in mathematics and a background in graph theory and network analysis, plus perhaps a love of reading PhD dissertations (of which this seems to be a book version), this is excellent, groundbreaking stuff. So average it out and let's say 3 stars.

[Mike Dettinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic in the complexity science literature and quite readable too

[Joanne Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic resource for anyone just beginning to engage with network research.

[DJ]

borderline between too mathematical for plebs and too soft for mathematicians

[Peter Flom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A formal look at networks from one of the pioneers in the field. Quite a bit of math.