"If you ever wanted to know how many links connect you and the Pope, or why when the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank sneezes the global economy catches c...
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reviews
Mar 01, 2010
Blyden
rated it: 
In the genre of presenting a field of scientific ideas to a general audience, ala Malcolm Gladwell. The book is engaging, but the style isn't as engaging as Gladwell's.
The subject is network theory. My own perspective on networks is from a very sociological and anthropological view. The reader will find some of that here, but the emphasis is more on the formal organizational properties of networks, particularly on the "small world" and "power law" networks that e More...
The subject is network theory. My own perspective on networks is from a very sociological and anthropological view. The reader will find some of that here, but the emphasis is more on the formal organizational properties of networks, particularly on the "small world" and "power law" networks that e More...
Feb 14, 2009
Steve
rated it:
Have you ever wondered what the hell Kevin Bacon has to do with the 6 degrees of separation idea? Have you ever looked at river beds on Google Earth and marveled at how much they look like fractal patterns?
Hidden patterns that connect you, yes you to the Pope. There are connections to to everything conceivable. The emerging field of "small worlds" theory gives us a glimpse of how hidden patterns interact and exchange information, and how everything here and in the cosmos c More...
Hidden patterns that connect you, yes you to the Pope. There are connections to to everything conceivable. The emerging field of "small worlds" theory gives us a glimpse of how hidden patterns interact and exchange information, and how everything here and in the cosmos c More...
Oct 08, 2009
ActionScientist
rated it: 
It really is a small world.
I didn't read the whole book. What got my attention was the idea that the whole 6-degrees system works because of just 4 random social links per tightly-linked groups of 50 (I imagine a roving band of stone age humans traipsing across Earth in search of a better place to hang out and breathe) .. and then something clicked in my mind .. what if most links could be de-randomised. What if ...
I didn't read the whole book. What got my attention was the idea that the whole 6-degrees system works because of just 4 random social links per tightly-linked groups of 50 (I imagine a roving band of stone age humans traipsing across Earth in search of a better place to hang out and breathe) .. and then something clicked in my mind .. what if most links could be de-randomised. What if ...
Jan 07, 2009
Jeffrey
rated it: 
The first half was a bad summary of 'Linked' and the rest had far too much generalization, not nearly enough specifics.<br><br>While I liked the application of network theory onto more subject matters than were covered in Linked, the only time the book brought anything new to the table was its discussion of breaking disease and wealth networks
Aug 01, 2011
Byron
rated it:
Overall interesting. Good readability for a science book. I find the style and content similar to Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point and Blink).
It's all about why there are only 6 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon and how that applies to societal wealth, river flows, Internet infrastructure, and disease pandemics.
It's all about why there are only 6 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon and how that applies to societal wealth, river flows, Internet infrastructure, and disease pandemics.
Dec 22, 2007
Kate
rated it:
This book is awesome. Ever wondered how you could possibly be connected to a farmer in Brazil or a Russian ice fisherman? Do you find it odd when you run in to random people when you're on vacation in NYC? It lays out the theories (like Granovetter's Strength of Weak Ties) and experiments (crazy ol' Erdos) that lead to the theory of small world networks. It's written by a journalist, so like the Shilts book, it reads quick, fun, and interesting. The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is based on small w
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Feb 26, 2011
Riana
rated it:
interesting book that quite impressibly demonstrates how everything is connected with everything.
good, accessible, and educating read!
good, accessible, and educating read!
Jun 23, 2010
Nexus: Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Theory of Networks by Mark Buchanan (2003)
Aug 11, 2008
Heather
rated it:
This is a great study of WHY the six degrees of separation theory is not just a theory, but a plausible explanation of how our world works. It's fascinating, but the math bits, get a bit dry and complicated. Again, best as a skimmer... but still worth going through a bit nonetheless if you liked Undercover Economist. But not nearly as entertaining as Tipping Point style.
Jul 11, 2008
Nancy
rated it:
"Nexus" covers much the same network-science ground as Barabasi's "Linked" -- Milgram's "six degrees" experiments, the spread of HIV, Granovetter's weak ties -- that reading both is somewhat redundant. That said, Buchanan digs deeper into cumulative advantage (i.e, the rich get richer), an understanding that, IMHO, explains a whole lot.
Aug 19, 2007
Kelly
rated it:
This is a fascinating and largely nontechnical introduction to applications of network theory, moving through a variety of fields, from sociology to ecology to physics. It's interesting because things are surprisingly similar across the different fields, and I loved that interrelatedness.
Sep 13, 2008
Chris
rated it:
The basic idea on this book is understanding how important network is own our society. Yhe writer shares the theory of six degree of separation. How everyone is separated to each other just knowing 6 people or less.
Jun 25, 2008
Ron
rated it: 
Buchanan basically reviews the literature to show how physics is beginning to explain how diseases spread and how the economy always makes the rich get richer. Fascinating.
Jul 11, 2010
Brian
rated it:
Fascinating read about small-world networks. Really high-level, pop science, and there's a bit of overlap with "Ubiquity" (vis-a-vis power laws), but good food for thought nevertheless. I do wish he'd bothered to sum up the take-aways a bit more succinctly; seems as though he was shying away from making any real strong claims or predictions.
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