|
Since the groundbreaking studies by Stanley
Milgram[1], human society is known to be a small-world network.
Milgram found that any two people in the world, chosen at
random, are connected to one another by typically six intermediate
acquaintances. Social networks of such topology allow for
the rapid spreading of news, rumours,
jokes or fashions. Diseases, transmitted from person to
person, can result in global epidemics. Small-world networks
are the focus of recent interest because of their potential
as models for the interaction in complex systems. There are
different classes of small-world networks[2], but they all
have in common that besides high local connectivity there
are also some long-range connections. Only recently, many
different systems have found to be small-worlds, the World
Wide Web[3], food webs, protein
networks[4], iHOP,
the scientific community...
| 1. |
|
Milgram, S. The small world problem. Psychol.
Today 2, 60-67 (1967). |
| 2. |
|
Amaral, L. A. et al. Classes of small-world networks.
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97, 11149-52. (2000).
|
| 3. |
|
Barabasi, A. L. & Albert, R. Emergence of scaling
in random networks. Science 286, 509-12. (1999).
|
| 4. |
|
Jeong, H. et al. Lethality and centrality in protein
networks. Nature 411, 41-2. (2001).
|
|