Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning About a Highly Connected World Author: David Easley | Language: English | ISBN:
0521195330 | Format: EPUB
Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning About a Highly Connected World Description
Over the past decade there has been a growing public fascination with the complex connectedness of modern society. This connectedness is found in many incarnations: in the rapid growth of the Internet, in the ease with which global communication takes place, and in the ability of news and information as well as epidemics and financial crises to spread with surprising speed and intensity. These are phenomena that involve networks, incentives, and the aggregate behavior of groups of people; they are based on the links that connect us and the ways in which our decisions can have subtle consequences for others. This introductory undergraduate textbook takes an interdisciplinary look at economics, sociology, computing and information science, and applied mathematics to understand networks and behavior. It describes the emerging field of study that is growing at the interface of these areas, addressing fundamental questions about how the social, economic, and technological worlds are connected.
- Hardcover: 744 pages
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press (July 19, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0521195330
- ISBN-13: 978-0521195331
- Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
I've been working through this book over the past three months and I have to say that it is one of the best books that I have read all year. It covers a wide range of topics related to markets, networks and crowd behavior and each section generally begins with a simple model to gain an initial understanding of the behavior of a particular situation, which is then progressively elaborated to reveal deeper insights. The models are continually compared to real world situations and discussion of the models helps to deepen your understanding of why some results which at first appear counter-intuitive, make sense. The exercises at the end of each chapter are just hard enough to test your understanding of the material, while still being easy enough to know whether your answers make sense. In the end, you are left with a more intuitive understanding of the phenomena and situations discussed encouraging deeper insight into how the world works. What is also interesting is the range of applicability of these models: from auctions and epidemics, to information cascades, building markets for new products, seeing how innovations spread through a population as well as network properties that block such spreading. The level of mathematics required to understand the models is not complex; basically a student in their final year of high school could follow most of the mathematics of the models. Having worked through this book, I feel more motivated to tackle more abstract treatments of Network Science, and I have also decided to explore some of the topics presented in greater depth (e.g. cascades)
By Mr. Ian D. Gray
Excellent introduction by two outstanding researchers. It introduces basic concepts on several fields (networks, game theory) together, in a way that no textbook does -in this era of over-specialization, a breadth of fresh air. Even though it minimizes formulas (it is directed to a general undergraduate audience) it does not abandon *rigor*, providing nice proofs of basic results. Very highly recommended to those who want/need an introduction to networks -even experts could probably learn a thing or two.
By Antonio
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