Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science, and Everyday Life
byAlbert-László Barabási
Linked talks about network theory, and its development from 1929 to 2002. Complex systems involve networks and Albert attempts to explain the nature of complex natural occurrences in the world through the lens of networks and graph theory. He talks about the history behind these fields and the mathematics and scientists involved. Albert applies some of these theories to areas like cellular biology, the world wide web, microeconomics and financial markets and more. The book is partially a personal journey of the authors learning to understand the interconnectedness of the world, and his trying to put together the pieces, but it's a very complex area and certain parts he attempted to describe were out of his area of expertise.
Motivations to Read
I am very interested in systems and network thinking. Linked aims to detail out the future of science when it comes to network effects showing how many parts of life are linked together, small parts of a larger system. In my guest to getting a better understanding of the world, having a more holistic and big picture very is fundamental to that goal.
3 Reasons to Read
- Learn about network theory and how it reveals itself all throughout science
- Learn about power laws
- How to better grasp complexity in systems
Notable Quotes
Networks do not offer a miracle drug, a strategy that makes you invincible in any business environment. The truly important role networks play is in helping existing organizations adapt to rapidly changing market conditions. The very concept of network implies a multidimensional approach. - Albert-László Barabási Most systems displaying a high degree of tolerance against failures are a common feature: Their functionality is guaranteed by a highly interconnected complex network. A cell's robustness is hidden in its intricate regulatory and metabolic network; society's resilience is rooted in the interwoven social web; the economy's stability is maintained by a delicate network of financial and regulator organizations; an ecosystem's survivability is encoded in a carefully crafted web of species interactions. It seems that nature strives to achieve robustness through interconnectivity. Such universal choice of a network architecture is perhaps more than mere coincidences. - Albert-László Barabási
Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science, and Everyday Life Notes & Summary
