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Nexus: Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Science of Networks (Hardcover)

by Mark Buchanan (Author) "IN THE SPRING of 1998, the London editorial offices of Nature received a manuscript having a somewhat unusual character..." (more)
Key Phrases: aristocratic kind, billion dots, random links, United States, Kevin Bacon, New York (more...)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Will a network science emerge that helps us understand a variety of complex organizational systems by describing the puzzles of human behavior and connections in mathematical terms? So argues Buchanan, former editor of Nature and New Scientist. Buchanan, who holds a Ph.D. in physics, delivers a good introduction to theoretical physics and the "small worlds" theory of networks. He sees biology, computer science, physics, and sociology as intimately connected. Buchanan illustrates social and physical networks with examples ranging from the infamous "six degrees of separation" theories, to the spread of the AIDS virus, to the mapping of the nervous system of the nematode worm. Are the similarities among these networks merely a coincidence or the result of some underlying physics? Only further research will tell, but in the meantime this book is a good primer to basic network concepts and contains references to key journal articles and studies for further reading. The subject will be of particular interest to mathematicians, physicists, and computer scientists and of general interest to those in most other disciplines. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries. Colleen Cuddy, Ehrman Medical Lib., NYU Sch. of Medicine
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Coincidence is the current focus of modish mathematical investigation. Kicked off, according to Buchanan, by a 1998 paper published in Nature, research on the nature of coincidence posits that deep-seated principles order huge, seemingly inchoate assemblies of objects. According to these conjectured principles, any member of a gigantic assembly of similar members (say of six billion human beings) can connect with any other member in astonishingly few steps. The idea seems ubiquitous, cropping up in food chains, the cell, neural networks, disease propagation, or electrical power grids--all arenas explored by Buchanan. This connection of objects in a set, dubbed "small worlds," comes in two "flavors": egalitarian networks and aristocratic networks, an example of the latter being the Internet. These are very interesting concepts, but before diving in, readers will want to know what they might get from Buchanan's presentation of various mathematicians' papers. Intimating that a small-worlds perspective might reveal the workings of economics as well as biology and ecology, Buchanan points up the relevance of his investigation. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

Hardcover: 235 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (May 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393041530
ISBN-13: 978-0393041538
Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #671,116 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
IN THE SPRING of 1998, the London editorial offices of Nature received a manuscript having a somewhat unusual character. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
aristocratic kind, billion dots, random links, ordered network, preferential attachment, random network, river network, tipping point

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Kevin Bacon, New York, Mark Granovetter, Los Angeles, Paul Baran, Silwood Park, Alfa Romeo, Stanley Milgram, Aunt Mabel, Silicon Valley, Elvis Presley, Hawoong Jeong, Information Revolution, Little Rock Lake, Mississippi River, Robert May, United Kingdom, University of California, Ythan River

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 30 books:

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell on 5 pages
A Dictionary of Scientific Quotations by Alan L. Mackay in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
The Wealth of Nations (Bantam Classics) by Adam Smith on page 187, and Back Matter
Models of My Life by Herbert A. Simon in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
Obedience to Authority by Stanley Milgram in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)

See all 30 books this book cites

27 books cite this book:

Networks, Terrorism and Global Insurgency by Robert Bunker on page 18, and Back Matter
The Hothouse Effect: Intensify Creativity in Your Organization Using Secrets from History's Most Innovative Communities by Barton Kunstler Ph.D. on page 69, and Back Matter
Knowing Capitalism (Published in association with Theory, Culture & Society) by Professor Nigel Thrift in Back Matter
Advances in Web-Based Learning - ICWL 2004: Third International Conference, Beijing, China, August 8-11, 2004, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science) by Wenyin Liu on page 292
Unit Operations: An Approach to Videogame Criticism by Ian Bogost in Back Matter

See all 27 books citing this book

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Customer Reviews

38 Reviews

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (38 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Networks of sex partners and the Net-Are they really related, December 8, 2003

By	world class wreckin cru "dallasite" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

The surprising answer is yes. I picked this book up after reading Steven Strogatz's Sync which mentions a great deal about the science of networks. Buchanan explains how networks exist everywhere - the net, the web, the power grid, our circle of friends, our sex partners - and that they are in fact very similar to one another.

The phrase "six degrees of separation" comes from the fact that two randomly chosen people, A and B, will on average be connected by six social links. A knows C who knows D who knows E who knows F who knows G who finally knows B. Considering the world has over 6 billion people, an average separation of 6 seems unbelievable small, but the explanation of this incredible phenomenon lies in the makeup of our social network. Our close friends know each other but our cluster of friends has weak ties to other clusters through acquaintances, people we really don't know that well - that's why when one is looking for a job, it's better to tell an acquaintance rather than a friend so that our inquiry can jump to other clusters. Our social network is essentially highly clustered but enough links exist between these clusters to allow us to jump from ourselves to any other person through just an average of six links. Buchanan shows us how this kind of network exists everywhere as mentioned above although he distinguishes between egalitarian networks where clusters are roughly the same size and aristocratic networks such as the WWW where gigantic hubs like Amazon.com exist that link to millions of websites.

One of the most interesting chapters in the book deals with sexual networks. It turns out that in the network of sex partners, certain people have a great many more links than the average person in the network. Buchanan explains how the structure of the sexual network actually accounts for the rapid spread of HIV. The virus spread quickly because the hubs in the network spread it to their numerous partners. In fact, it turns out that a significant percentage of the inital HIV cases had a sexual relationship with one particular flight attendant.

As I wrote in my review for Strogatz's Sync, we are entering an era of science where disparate fields of study are being linked because many phenomena that we used to regard as unrelated now appear to have very similar underlying bases. It is exciting to read books like Nexus because it illustrates this point. You should definitely read this book if your are interested in the science of networks and want to know how so many different phenomena are being explained by the same underlying principles.

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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars HIDDEN DESIGNS, September 6, 2003

By	Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Buchanan points out the hidden networks that tie together both the physical world and the world of consciousness, showing that amongst other things the Internet, electrical grids, the brain and the global economy are all systems with an underlying pattern that shares nature's design.

Physics, biology and other sciences have uncovered a multitude of unexpected connections between the operation of the human world and the functioning of other seemingly unrelated things. Many networks that seemed to be random are turning out to have a hidden order as revealed by the discipline of Complexity Theory.

The most interesting sections are those on the Internet, on the spread of AIDS and on economic systems. The author's conclusion is that many aspects of the world are indeed simpler than they appear on the surface and that there is a hidden and powerful design that binds everything together.

This fascinating book confirms many of the findings that I have encountered in other titles like Beyond Chaos by Mark Ward and Hidden Connections by Fritjof Capra. It concludes with a set of explanatory notes and a thorough index. Small World is a stimulating and thought provoking work.

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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Six Degrees of seperation., August 28, 2002

By	M. Karakus (CAMBRIDGE, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Actually, I bought this book with the intention of reading about genetics algorithms although I was pleasantly surprised with the out come of the book.

The book is about how our large world is small and what seems chaotic is actually an organized small network.

The author starts with how networks in nature relate to networks in technology. A very strong case for "6 degrees of separation" for our society and "19 degrees of (link) separation" for the Internet. The rest of the book explains with historical examples how scientists were able to prove the networking concepts through human decision and thought process.

I gave this book 4 star because I did not think that the conclusion had the continuity of the other chapters. I would recommend this book to all individuals who would be interested in reading and understanding the connections and influences of nature in our "connected" world.

Have fun understanding that you closer then you think to the person next door.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Next stage of understanding the world
I heard of Mr. Buchanan's work from a radio here and I borrowed it finally from the library of the university I studied in. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Chang King Leung

4.0 out of 5 stars An Important Idea and and Entertaining Book
In this book, I think Buchanan makes a fairly convincing case that the natural, human, and technological worlds naturally tend to organize themselves into networks consisting of... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Irfan A. Alvi

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Nutshell review - The topic of this book, small-world networks, is fascinating and the author does a great job of covering the material in an easy to absorb and understand manner... Read more

Published 10 months ago by Jos Pols

2.0 out of 5 stars Extremely frustrating
The subject that Mark Buchanan addresses is, in itself, significant and fascinating. And Mr. Buchanan knows his stuff. Read more

Published 11 months ago by J. M Heumann

4.0 out of 5 stars Good High-Level Overview
Nexus is a book that delves into network theory, specifically the implications of so-called "small-world" networks. Read more

Published 15 months ago by Jared Hanson

5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting!
A really interesting book. It's not hard to read and open your eyes on a new approach in understanding how real things go.

Published 16 months ago by C. Giovanni

3.0 out of 5 stars I liked "Linked: How Everything is Connected" better
I am neither a scientist nor an economist. I wanted to learn more about this emerging science of networks. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Lon Welsh

5.0 out of 5 stars The science behind Six Degrees of Separation
Buchanan, former editor of Nature and the New Scientist, is an engaging writer with a background in physics. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Mark Smallwood

4.0 out of 5 stars A new science
The 20th century witnessed the birth of several entirely new branches of science. Some of the more popular include relativity, nuclear physics, genetics, and solid state science... Read more

Published on July 9, 2007 by Newton Ooi

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Satisfying Read
This book is an terrific introduction to the details and applications of networks. Having only a superficial notion of what networks were about beforehand, I could hardly put it... Read more

Published on March 17, 2007 by Poochie

› See all 38 customer reviews...

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