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"Making Connections": A review of Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age, by Duncan J. Watts. Reviewed by Prabhakar Raghavan. American Scientist, July-August 2003.
The reviewer writes: "Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age [by Duncan J. Watts] offers the lay reader fascinating insights into the way science is done, particularly into the interplay of several fields with distinctive methodologies. Watts argues for a new science that blends graph theory, stochastic processes and `complexity.' A very entertaining read, especially for nonscientists." As Raghavan notes, Watts suggests that "the classical theory of random graphs is a failure because for decades mathematicians overlooked the need to consider more sophisticated models." The reviewer suggests that this is because "mathematicians like to prove theorems about objects they study, and when the objects get too complex for their proof techniques they back off. In contrast, almost all of the evidence driving the conclusions in Six Degrees rests on computer simulations, which allow the exploration of sophisticated network models without demanding definitive mathematical proof... Watts clearly recognizes this important difference but could have explained it better; however, the book otherwise nicely contrasts the scientific methodologies from multiple disciplines."
--- Annette Emerson
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