Networks are everywhere – and not just in places you expect to find them like the Internet (which is a network of networks). You find them in social networks – which existed long before Facebook – transport networks represented by roads, railways, airports, living networks which we recognise as ecosystems and even things like terrorist networks which we have become all too familiar with. This brief (114 page) volume goes a pretty good job at casting its eyes over the whole lot without losing focus, dumbing down or piling on the technical detail to bamboozle the naïve reader – like me.
OK, I was familiar with many of the author’s real world examples but I was certainly less familiar with Network Theory and the science of Network Topography that can be used to isolate and diagnose otherwise intractable problems: why are some systems/networks so robust to attack whilst other seem fragile and apparently fall apart after a minor nudge? How can we make critical infrastructure more resilient to future disruption (accidents, global warming events, terrorism) without breaking the bank in the process? Is it possible to target a few individuals (in a terrorist network for instance) or a few critical assets (in an enemy state) to produce effective results out of all proportion to the level of force used. Can we use Network Analysis to save lives and improve the world around us?
It seems, certainly from this work, a young field of exploration open to very interesting and powerful possibilities. I’m definitely going to check out some of the recent pop science books on the subject and then maybe move onto more of the hard stuff (I always knew that the VSI books are ‘gateways’ into more hard-core fare), so watch this space. If such things interest you then this could be a good place to start reading up on the subject. The book is basically a quick overview of the field but with enough ‘meat’ to make you want more. What else can you ask for from an introductory book?
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