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by maxim khesin.
Original Post: Linked
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Another accomplishment of this trip was finally finishing Linked, the book about the different networks that influence our life (hence particularly relevant to this blog). It appears that the the Internet/Web explosion gave researchers the kind of data they did not have before, stimulating new work in many "networked" areas. The most well-known networks are communication networks, citation networks, social networks and the Web. There are some interesing ones such as the "food network" (and I always thought in was a chain!) and the sex network (extensively studied with the onset of AIDS epidemic). The first part of the book is really good and suspenseful. See, the state of the art in graph theory until recently has been random graphs, studied by Erdos in the 60's. The random graph model was then borrowed by other disciplines, primarily sociology, to explain its own problems. This has recently changed in a big way. (No surprise - Erdos & Co were primarily interested in pure mathematics, while the current research is based on a lot of live data.) Not to spoil it for those who want to read the book, the first part takes you through the transition from random graphs to the current state of the art, and reads like a good novel. The second part of the book is retrofitting the new theory into a bunch of "hot" areas, which I found a bit trite. I was still reading on, seeking the same kind of excitement that the first part of the book produced, which never really came. Oh, well, a lot of life seems to be an attempt at this kind of recapture, met with frustration, so I guess I am used to it. Still the book is worthwhile, check it out! Since I mentioned Erdos, I should also recommend "My Brain Is Open" (Yes, I read the other books, too, this one is the best, IMO). Highlights: Paul Erdos, who at one time had an appointment at the Institute of Advanced Studies, travelled with one suitcase, stayed by friends in N different countries (I think he was the only American citizen allowed free travel in and OUT of communist Hungary) and did crazy math, and gave all his money away to either charity or as prises for solving his math problems. Mathematicians measure themselves by the "Erdos number", which is the number of collaboration links back to Paul. Great read.
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