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Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age
The pioneering young scientist whose work on the structure of small worlds has triggered an avalanche of interest in networks. In this remarkable book, Duncan Watts, one of the principal architects of network theory, sets out to explain the innovative research that he and other scientists are spearheading to create a blueprint of our connected planet. Whether they bind computers, economies, or terrorist organizations, networks are everywhere in the real world, yet only recently have scientists attempted to explain their mysterious workings. From epidemics of disease to outbreaks of market madness, from people searching for information to firms surviving crisis and change, from the structure of personal relationships to the technological and social choices of entire societies, Watts weaves together a network of discoveries across an array of disciplines to tell the story of an explosive new field of knowledge, the people who are building it, and his own peculiar path in forging this new science.
384 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2003
154 people are currently reading
2653 people want to read
About the author
Duncan J. Watts
42 books113 followersDuncan 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
March 25, 2016
أخييييرآ خلصت الكتاب ده :) كتاب دسم .. كان يكفينى قراءة بعض الورقات فى كل جلسه .. أى حد دارس رياضه بحته أو فيزياء أو دارس إحصاء بتعمق الكتاب حيكون سهل نسبيآ بالنسبة له .. اللطيف فى الكتاب ده ان فصوله منفصلة .. من الممكن قراءة الفصول بدون ترتيب .. استخدمت القراءة السريعه فى الفقرات الصعبة إللى كانت بتقابلنى .. كان عندى تحدى إنى أنتهى من قراءته .. علم جديد .. أفكار جديدة .. كنت بتناقش مع أحدهم عن العلاقات الإجتماعية و كيفية نشأتها .. و إتفاجئت بنفسي بستشهد بأفكار من الكتاب لدعم وجهة نظرى و بتكلم عن نقاط التلاقى إللى قرأت عنها فى وصف الشبكات .. من أكثر الفصول إللى أثارت فضولى و ده لا يمنع ان أجزاء منها كانت صعبة :
الأوبئة و الأعطال
القرارات و الأوهام و جنون الجماهير
الحدود و السلاسل و قابلية التنبؤ
الابتكار و التكيف و التعافى
الأوبئة و الأعطال
القرارات و الأوهام و جنون الجماهير
الحدود و السلاسل و قابلية التنبؤ
الابتكار و التكيف و التعافى
August 12, 2015
This is my first introduction to network theory and small world theory. I found it completely fascinating and well worth a read. I picked up this book because I wanted to understand the impact of cross group work by mapping out connections. I was looking to a taxonomy to talk about these concepts with others. A co-worker suggested I read up on graph theory, which lead me to this book and this researcher. This book accomplished that. It's a well written digestible overview and history of a very complex topic.
Based on the title, what I dd not expect was he would talk about universality of networks. This turned out to be a bonus. This book is not only about social interactions, but also about the organization of any network. If you work on systems or are interested in systems theory, then this book is well worth a read. I found the coverage of resilience/susceptibility of complex system to failures to be really interesting and a very different perspective. He makes a point that only in hind sight can we see the chain of events that started things (in power failures, the tree branch that drooped to low). Also, that the multitude of interactions in systems makes them both vulnerable and robust at the same time.
Who should read this? Anyone who wants to understand the underlying theory on how complex systems actually work. It's a great layman's introduction to the topic. I really appreciate that the author kept the complex math behind the book out of it (thus making it accessible). And he does provide a full bibliography at the end for those who want to do further reading to understand the math or do their own research.
The book is over 10 years old at this point (Friendster is the social network example, Facebook didn't exist yet!), so now I want to go do reading on the latest advancements in this research. See how the understanding has evolved since.
Based on the title, what I dd not expect was he would talk about universality of networks. This turned out to be a bonus. This book is not only about social interactions, but also about the organization of any network. If you work on systems or are interested in systems theory, then this book is well worth a read. I found the coverage of resilience/susceptibility of complex system to failures to be really interesting and a very different perspective. He makes a point that only in hind sight can we see the chain of events that started things (in power failures, the tree branch that drooped to low). Also, that the multitude of interactions in systems makes them both vulnerable and robust at the same time.
Who should read this? Anyone who wants to understand the underlying theory on how complex systems actually work. It's a great layman's introduction to the topic. I really appreciate that the author kept the complex math behind the book out of it (thus making it accessible). And he does provide a full bibliography at the end for those who want to do further reading to understand the math or do their own research.
The book is over 10 years old at this point (Friendster is the social network example, Facebook didn't exist yet!), so now I want to go do reading on the latest advancements in this research. See how the understanding has evolved since.
March 26, 2008
Definitely the best book on the science of large social networks.
November 15, 2011
This book was OK. I think I would have liked it more if I knew more about math and statistics. Watts raised some interesting points in his book and who can forget playing the 6 degrees from Kevin Bacon. Watts was not able to apply his findings to real world examples in a way that made the connections understandable to a layman. In addition, at the end of it all there was no tangible finding or process that could be applied by a reader to more effectively utilize networks.
August 4, 2014
I like the topic, I've read magazines articles on network science before and enjoyed them. And I like the concepts and ideas and what network science can tell us. But apparently, I just can't read a full book on topic. It takes awhile to explain things and while the text is accessible it just doesn't hold my attention. I had to put it aside.
May 10, 2023
Might not be 4 stars. Probably closer to 3.5
However, I picked this up at a free library and was really surprised by how much it's main subject had to do with my own research (power laws in brain signals)
A fun read and an important topic
However, I picked this up at a free library and was really surprised by how much it's main subject had to do with my own research (power laws in brain signals)
A fun read and an important topic
March 18, 2010
Aleks Krotoski, broadcaster, journalist, and academic specialising in technology and interactivity, has chosen to discuss Duncan J Watts’s
Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age
on FiveBooks as one of the top five on her subject - Virtual Living, saying that:
"...Watts has been looking at the small world phenomenon to identify whether the web itself has shrunk our world, and in fact it hasn’t… We still do have those six degrees of separation, even by e-mail, with somebody who’s in, say, Brazil. When it comes down to it, ultimately we do still have the same number of friends and the same number of connections between two points in the world..."
The full interview is available here: http://five-books.com/interviews/aleks-krotoski
"...Watts has been looking at the small world phenomenon to identify whether the web itself has shrunk our world, and in fact it hasn’t… We still do have those six degrees of separation, even by e-mail, with somebody who’s in, say, Brazil. When it comes down to it, ultimately we do still have the same number of friends and the same number of connections between two points in the world..."
The full interview is available here: http://five-books.com/interviews/aleks-krotoski
August 18, 2016
الكتاب مفيد جدًا ويستحق القراءة.
وهو يؤرخ ويقدم لعلم الشبكات وهو علم ناشئ يدرس الشبكة بما هي شبكة بصرف النظر عن العناصر المكونة لها سواء أكانت شبكة اجتماعية أم شبكة الانترنت أم شبكة الخلايا العصبية وهلم جرا...،وكيف تؤثر فيها الصدمات وكيفية مواجهتها للأعطال... كذلك تحدّث عن الأوبئة وانتشارها وكيف يتخذ الأفراد قرارتهم وتأثير الشبكة عليهم.
أسلوب الكاتب ممتع رغم أنني وجدت صعوبة في الناحية الرياضية لكن الجميل في علم الشبكات وهو ما يجعله مهم ومعقد أنه لا يعتمد على علم واحد؛ علم الإجتماع الرياضيات الفيزياء علم الأحياء... كلها تعمل معًا لدراسة الشبكات.
وهو يؤرخ ويقدم لعلم الشبكات وهو علم ناشئ يدرس الشبكة بما هي شبكة بصرف النظر عن العناصر المكونة لها سواء أكانت شبكة اجتماعية أم شبكة الانترنت أم شبكة الخلايا العصبية وهلم جرا...،وكيف تؤثر فيها الصدمات وكيفية مواجهتها للأعطال... كذلك تحدّث عن الأوبئة وانتشارها وكيف يتخذ الأفراد قرارتهم وتأثير الشبكة عليهم.
أسلوب الكاتب ممتع رغم أنني وجدت صعوبة في الناحية الرياضية لكن الجميل في علم الشبكات وهو ما يجعله مهم ومعقد أنه لا يعتمد على علم واحد؛ علم الإجتماع الرياضيات الفيزياء علم الأحياء... كلها تعمل معًا لدراسة الشبكات.
December 7, 2010
A look at the maths behind the idea that there are 'six degreees of separation' and other networking theories. Interesting stuff and I like the fact that the author is not afraid to include plenty of graphs to illustrate his ideas, popular science books that insist on using only words drive me nuts.
January 27, 2018
كتاب مفيد وثقيل بعض الشيء عليّ، أظنه يحتاج قراءة ثانية بعد تعلم والانتهاء من كتب أخرى، لكن في المجمل تعلمت منه الكثير وأدهشني كثيرًا ما تعلمت، قليلًا ما أقرأ كتابًا أو مقالًا فأشعر أنه زادني إدراكًا وتفهمًا للعالم حولي، أما هذا الكتاب ففعل.
وهو من الكتب التي سيكون لها بالغ التأثير في اختيار وبدء مجال عملي في المستقبل القريب إن شاء الله.
وهو من الكتب التي سيكون لها بالغ التأثير في اختيار وبدء مجال عملي في المستقبل القريب إن شاء الله.
March 13, 2009
It's a sign of the author's great intelligence that I was able to understand this book...of course the parts that interested me the most were (1) network theory used to examine spread of disease (2) designing flexible, robust response systems.
February 9, 2010
I really liked this. I love accessible science with references to the original work. It is similar to linked, and the topic is related, both excellent books to get you thinking about networks.
March 16, 2024
قرأت النسخة العربية التي ترجمتها وأتاحتها مجانا - مشكورة - مؤسسة هنداوي.
الكتاب دسم جدا وترجمته وعرة، لا يصلح للقراءة قبل النوم! ويحتاج لقراءة ثانية للاستفادة منه!
.
موضوع الكتاب: علم الشبكات
وهو علم جديد نسبيا، وهو علم مستقل يجمع مصادره من عدة علوم أخرى، كالفيزياء وعلم الاجتماع والاقتصاد والأحياء وريادة الأعمال.
وفي سبيل ذلك يسير الكتاب في ثلاثة خطوط:
١- تاريخ العلم نفسه
٢- الظواهر التي يحاول العلم فهمها مثل الأوبئة والصيحات الثقافية والثورات والأزمات المالية والابتكار المؤسسي.
٣- وهذا خط خفي، لم يصرح به الكاتب لكني شعرت بأنه متعمد، وهو سرد قصة المؤلف وكيف أوصلته شبكة معارفه واحدا تلو واحد في تطوير هذا العلم الجديد، وكأنه يريد أن يقول هذا أول تطبيق عملي لعلم الشبكات!
.
خلاصة أفكار الكتاب- كما فهمتها-
١- العالم صغير بالفعل، والمسافة الجغرافية ليست ذات أهمية كبيرة للاتصال بين الناس، بل يمكنك الوصول لأي شخص من خلال ست درجات من الانفصال بالفعل، أي عن طريق تتابع أصدقاء الأصدقاء.
.
كيف يحدث ذلك؟
عن طريق نقاط قليلة شديدة الاتصال.
ما أهمية ذلك؟
ما يقوله الكتاب أننا، وإنا كنا شديدي الاتصال، إلا أننا شديدي الاغتراب بالفعل، وأي شخص أبعد من درجتين، أي أبعد من صديق صديقك، يكون غريبا عنك بالفعل. أي سيكون صعبا الاعتماد عليه في البحث عن وظيفة أو معلومة أو إحداث تأثير.
-- هكذا فهمت هذه النقطة، لكن الحق أن فهمي مشوش لها لصعوبة الكتاب، وكما قلت يحتاج لقراءة ثانية، خاصة أنه قال ذات مرة أن هذه الشبكة الواهية قد تفيدك في البحث عن وظيفة، فإن كنت تقرأ هذه المراجعة فلا تعتد بهذه النقطة كأنها تلخيص لرأي الكاتب --
.
هل تأثير الفراشة حقيقي؟
لم يذكر الكتاب ذلك صراحة، لكن استكمال الفكرة السابقة تدل عليه، فالعالم متشابك بحق، حتى وإن كان مغتربا، لكن قد يكون للأحداث البعيدة تأثير شديد عليك من حيث لم تحتسب!
.
٢- العلاقة بين الأسباب والنتائج مضللة فيما يتعلق بالصدمات التي تتلقاها الشبكات، أي شبكات، اجتماعية كانت أو شبكات طاقة أو إنترنت أو غيرها. فربما تحدث صدمة بسيطة آثارا مهولة، وربما تصمد الشبكة لصدمات عنيفة، وفي معظم الأحيان نعجز عن الحكم على الأشياء وأهميتها إلا بأثر رجعي!
هل هذا مفيد؟
قد لا يفيد في التنبؤ بالمستقبل، لكن قد يفيد في فهم الآليات التي أدت لحدوث النتائج، وهذا قد يكون مفيدا في حد ذاته، ربما للتعافي من الصدمات المشابهة في المستقبل!
.
٣- هناك أنواع عدة من الشبكات وطرق اتصالها، وكل نوع له سلوك جمعي مختلف، وبالتالي طريقة معالجة مختلفة. فالمهم في بعض الشبكات وجود طرقا قصيرة بين أفرادها، والمهم في شبكات أخرى وجود نقاط اتصال قوية، والمهم في شبكات ثالثة هو إمكانية استكشاف أفرادها.
.
وبعد، إذا كان غرضك من الكتاب التسلية والفائدة، فإني أرشح لك كتاب "نقطة التحول بدلا من هذا الكتاب"
وإن كان غرضك ريادة الأعمال والانتشار الفيروسي للأفكار، فإضافة لكتاب "نقطة التحول" أرشح لك كتاب "معدي".
وإن كان عرضك فهم تأثير الشبكة في عالم الأعمال، فإني أرشح لك كتاب
The cold start problem.
فهذه الثلاثة أسهل وأمتع من هذا الكتاب.
الكتاب دسم جدا وترجمته وعرة، لا يصلح للقراءة قبل النوم! ويحتاج لقراءة ثانية للاستفادة منه!
.
موضوع الكتاب: علم الشبكات
وهو علم جديد نسبيا، وهو علم مستقل يجمع مصادره من عدة علوم أخرى، كالفيزياء وعلم الاجتماع والاقتصاد والأحياء وريادة الأعمال.
وفي سبيل ذلك يسير الكتاب في ثلاثة خطوط:
١- تاريخ العلم نفسه
٢- الظواهر التي يحاول العلم فهمها مثل الأوبئة والصيحات الثقافية والثورات والأزمات المالية والابتكار المؤسسي.
٣- وهذا خط خفي، لم يصرح به الكاتب لكني شعرت بأنه متعمد، وهو سرد قصة المؤلف وكيف أوصلته شبكة معارفه واحدا تلو واحد في تطوير هذا العلم الجديد، وكأنه يريد أن يقول هذا أول تطبيق عملي لعلم الشبكات!
.
خلاصة أفكار الكتاب- كما فهمتها-
١- العالم صغير بالفعل، والمسافة الجغرافية ليست ذات أهمية كبيرة للاتصال بين الناس، بل يمكنك الوصول لأي شخص من خلال ست درجات من الانفصال بالفعل، أي عن طريق تتابع أصدقاء الأصدقاء.
.
كيف يحدث ذلك؟
عن طريق نقاط قليلة شديدة الاتصال.
ما أهمية ذلك؟
ما يقوله الكتاب أننا، وإنا كنا شديدي الاتصال، إلا أننا شديدي الاغتراب بالفعل، وأي شخص أبعد من درجتين، أي أبعد من صديق صديقك، يكون غريبا عنك بالفعل. أي سيكون صعبا الاعتماد عليه في البحث عن وظيفة أو معلومة أو إحداث تأثير.
-- هكذا فهمت هذه النقطة، لكن الحق أن فهمي مشوش لها لصعوبة الكتاب، وكما قلت يحتاج لقراءة ثانية، خاصة أنه قال ذات مرة أن هذه الشبكة الواهية قد تفيدك في البحث عن وظيفة، فإن كنت تقرأ هذه المراجعة فلا تعتد بهذه النقطة كأنها تلخيص لرأي الكاتب --
.
هل تأثير الفراشة حقيقي؟
لم يذكر الكتاب ذلك صراحة، لكن استكمال الفكرة السابقة تدل عليه، فالعالم متشابك بحق، حتى وإن كان مغتربا، لكن قد يكون للأحداث البعيدة تأثير شديد عليك من حيث لم تحتسب!
.
٢- العلاقة بين الأسباب والنتائج مضللة فيما يتعلق بالصدمات التي تتلقاها الشبكات، أي شبكات، اجتماعية كانت أو شبكات طاقة أو إنترنت أو غيرها. فربما تحدث صدمة بسيطة آثارا مهولة، وربما تصمد الشبكة لصدمات عنيفة، وفي معظم الأحيان نعجز عن الحكم على الأشياء وأهميتها إلا بأثر رجعي!
هل هذا مفيد؟
قد لا يفيد في التنبؤ بالمستقبل، لكن قد يفيد في فهم الآليات التي أدت لحدوث النتائج، وهذا قد يكون مفيدا في حد ذاته، ربما للتعافي من الصدمات المشابهة في المستقبل!
.
٣- هناك أنواع عدة من الشبكات وطرق اتصالها، وكل نوع له سلوك جمعي مختلف، وبالتالي طريقة معالجة مختلفة. فالمهم في بعض الشبكات وجود طرقا قصيرة بين أفرادها، والمهم في شبكات أخرى وجود نقاط اتصال قوية، والمهم في شبكات ثالثة هو إمكانية استكشاف أفرادها.
.
وبعد، إذا كان غرضك من الكتاب التسلية والفائدة، فإني أرشح لك كتاب "نقطة التحول بدلا من هذا الكتاب"
وإن كان غرضك ريادة الأعمال والانتشار الفيروسي للأفكار، فإضافة لكتاب "نقطة التحول" أرشح لك كتاب "معدي".
وإن كان عرضك فهم تأثير الشبكة في عالم الأعمال، فإني أرشح لك كتاب
The cold start problem.
فهذه الثلاثة أسهل وأمتع من هذا الكتاب.
November 30, 2020
Book talks about the inter connectivity of networks and the effects it has on society in general. It’s a cool, but technical book that uses a lot of statistics, graphs, and formulas to get certain points across.
I don’t know if it has changed my views of people, but it does make me see how connected the world is. One of the interesting points is that the things that happen may not necessarily be simply skill or quality, but the way a network is structured. If the right conditions are met, a cascade will form and blow it up. An idea a bit more general than Gladwell’s tipping point.
It’s cool how the author combines the social understanding of sociology with the scientific rigor of mathematics to explain the points. Small worlds, cascades, the spread ability, and big impact events that occur from the design of an organization was explained pretty well through that process.
Funny to say that the book, although a little over a decade old, seems outdated. It had a lot of topical conversations, but they were used to prove a point well. I thought it was an okay book with a fascinating topic
I don’t know if it has changed my views of people, but it does make me see how connected the world is. One of the interesting points is that the things that happen may not necessarily be simply skill or quality, but the way a network is structured. If the right conditions are met, a cascade will form and blow it up. An idea a bit more general than Gladwell’s tipping point.
It’s cool how the author combines the social understanding of sociology with the scientific rigor of mathematics to explain the points. Small worlds, cascades, the spread ability, and big impact events that occur from the design of an organization was explained pretty well through that process.
Funny to say that the book, although a little over a decade old, seems outdated. It had a lot of topical conversations, but they were used to prove a point well. I thought it was an okay book with a fascinating topic
August 7, 2022
I find this book incredibly difficult to rate.
In the beginning of this year, I spent quite some time digging into network sciences. So I know a thing or two about the contents of this book, and I was really looking forward to reading it as an evening treat. But truth be told, I was having a really hard time struggling through it. It took me two full months (typically at a rate of 5-7 pages per day), and I hardly ever enjoyed it.
I can't even tell why I had such problems. Did I not learn anything interesting? Why, yes! Is the book boring? Certainly not. Is it badly written? I don't think so. Is the language too difficult? Well, maybe unnecessarily complicated at times, but largely okay. Yet still - again and again, I found myself reading paragraphs two or three times or even losing interest with whole sections.
So I leave it with mixed feelings and look for other, more accessible texts on the topic.
In the beginning of this year, I spent quite some time digging into network sciences. So I know a thing or two about the contents of this book, and I was really looking forward to reading it as an evening treat. But truth be told, I was having a really hard time struggling through it. It took me two full months (typically at a rate of 5-7 pages per day), and I hardly ever enjoyed it.
I can't even tell why I had such problems. Did I not learn anything interesting? Why, yes! Is the book boring? Certainly not. Is it badly written? I don't think so. Is the language too difficult? Well, maybe unnecessarily complicated at times, but largely okay. Yet still - again and again, I found myself reading paragraphs two or three times or even losing interest with whole sections.
So I leave it with mixed feelings and look for other, more accessible texts on the topic.
January 29, 2023
Read this in the days before social networks when I was a sad schizophrenic who didn't understand themselves very well and was voraciously reading to fill time in the meantime. It was about Networks and the famous six degrees of separation. Nowadays six degrees of Kevin Bacon is a stale meme but at the time when the internet was a new shiny thing on the information highway this was a hot topic now things like Cambridge Analytica and other Capital perversions overshadow it. Anyway, I read this a long time ago and I was a different person. See you Heraclitus. Sorry I am a bit amped up from intellectual stuff and I digress a lot sorry I must sound like a Q drop or something. Anyway a decent introduction to graph theory interesting ideas probably way surpassed by now.
June 16, 2021
I could not be sure what this book was. It switched back and forth between a mix of network science, popular science and reminiscing about professional partnerships.
The highpoint of the book was early in the pages - a solid explanation of Kevin Bacon theory. After that point there was little of interest.
1 star that it was written by an Australian.
1 star for content.
I collected this book from a Street Library.
The highpoint of the book was early in the pages - a solid explanation of Kevin Bacon theory. After that point there was little of interest.
1 star that it was written by an Australian.
1 star for content.
I collected this book from a Street Library.
December 29, 2018
Not really all that engaging, but one of the first non fiction books I've got through in a while. It gives some interesting insights, but ultimately it's a bit old and too much work in reading through it for the little gain in knowledge it provides.
October 8, 2017
This book should be deemed as the first course of the science of networks.
January 23, 2018
Abandoned reading this. Maybe I'll come back to it some other time. 80 pages in I still felt like I hadn't learned anything I didn't already know. I don't have the patience to keep reading.
August 15, 2018
كتاب اكاديمي بحت يحتاج للعودة اليه مرات للقراءة
July 17, 2019
Just awful. Reads like a PhD student trying to impress his faculty advisor. Far too much theory and little practical application.
July 6, 2021
“The monumental maybe is too hard to comprehend directly, and so our minds react by representing an entire enterprise or period of history with a single person or part—an icon.”
A fascinating read.
A fascinating read.
November 4, 2023
Scientific explanation of network theory (6 degrees of separation), using math and physics! Relates to epidemics, financial crises, social movements, etc. Fascinating, extremely technical.
May 27, 2017
In one word: Refreshing.
Sat with it for two consecutive nights until my eyes started hurting. He describes his own academic journey - as a confused graduate student stumbling upon a completely unexplored subject - ecstatic at his finding but marvelling at how it remained unexplored for so long. But as he said, things had to happen in a particular order .
As for the science, it's presented in a completely accessible way - it's supposed to be for general reading. (Book Description covers it all).
He presents how properties of complex systems depend not only on interactions between individual components, but also the topology of the network on which these interactions occur. It seems obvious to us, and it did to him too, as to others before him. But despite such ideas prevailing long before Watts, Strogatz and Barabasi arrived on scene, there was little progress without sufficient computational tools available.
He continually stresses on understanding and appreciating the particular system under study, while sieving out irrelevant details. He also discusses universality classes, and the general applicability of so many results. His presentation leaves you with an impression of good science , done by good scientists, both of which are equally important and remarkable.
Given my own interest in the subject, it made the reading even more pleasurable. His enthusiasm is infectious, and his ending tribute to science left me with a warm, happy feeling about choosing this career.
I think the autobiographical style is what makes it such a delightful read. Easily recommended for everyone.
Sat with it for two consecutive nights until my eyes started hurting. He describes his own academic journey - as a confused graduate student stumbling upon a completely unexplored subject - ecstatic at his finding but marvelling at how it remained unexplored for so long. But as he said, things had to happen in a particular order .
As for the science, it's presented in a completely accessible way - it's supposed to be for general reading. (Book Description covers it all).
He presents how properties of complex systems depend not only on interactions between individual components, but also the topology of the network on which these interactions occur. It seems obvious to us, and it did to him too, as to others before him. But despite such ideas prevailing long before Watts, Strogatz and Barabasi arrived on scene, there was little progress without sufficient computational tools available.
He continually stresses on understanding and appreciating the particular system under study, while sieving out irrelevant details. He also discusses universality classes, and the general applicability of so many results. His presentation leaves you with an impression of good science , done by good scientists, both of which are equally important and remarkable.
Given my own interest in the subject, it made the reading even more pleasurable. His enthusiasm is infectious, and his ending tribute to science left me with a warm, happy feeling about choosing this career.
I think the autobiographical style is what makes it such a delightful read. Easily recommended for everyone.
February 13, 2019
I love reading books on behavioral economics, but by now I've read a whole bunch of them, and all the writers I read cite one another's books and studies, and the more books I read, the less new information I'm getting out of them. This was an unexpected treat. I discovered Duncan Watts a few years ago when I read his book Everything is Obvious: Once You Know the Answer, which related much more directly to behavioral economics. Six Degrees has to do with network theory, which I don't know much about, and I wasn't sure if it would hold my interest the same way. But oh my goodness. Network theory is like large-scale behavioral economics, where instead of studying the behavior of individuals, you study the behavior of groups of individuals, and how one person's behavior changes according to other people's behavior. It adds a new twist to a topic I love, and very little of what I read was redundant, but it was all fascinating! I'm happy I finally dared to pick it up and delve in.
January 15, 2012
I became interested in Networks after reading Connected & after browsing related books online, everything pointed me towards reading this next. It's the perfect starting point for anyone interested in networks because it teaches you in detail how differents types of networks function, differ & relate to one another across all the scientific spectrums. I even found myself recognizing the authors colleagues from other network lit purchases I've made. I'm excited to see what's changed from 2003 to now. I can already make my own observations to changes in the economy, online social netowrking & book trends from then to now.
January 15, 2016
An excellent layperson's companion to Duncan's Small Worlds: The Dynamics of Networks Between Order and Randomness, this treatment dives into the history of network science research, including its roots and Duncan's earlier forays into the field. I do recommend this book to my friends, particularly those who ask "what's this 'complexity' thing you're always going on about?" Disclosure: Duncan is an acquaintance of mine via the Santa Fe Institute, so I'm a bit biased because of the outstanding nature of his work.
November 4, 2011
Picked up this book when I was exploring the wonderful worlds of small world/scale free networks, power laws and synchronization, which was in turn due to an interest in chaos theory and nonlinear dynamics. Amazing book full of great examples and ideas. A very readable introduction to the science of networks. Highly recommend this and Albert Laszlo Barabasi's book "Linked", and Steven Strogatz's awesome book, "Sync".
July 22, 2011
Really fantastic, if dense, book. It educates & does a pretty good job of entertaining in the process. You finish knowing a lot more about the area of networks and where the state of the science on that topic was about 5-6 years ago. I'm motivated to track down some review articles to find out where things have gone.
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