It is way too early to start calling this a pandemic. Nonetheless, as Valdis Krebs illustrates with diagrams of actual data, the swine flu outbreak nicely illustrates the 'cascade phenomenon' in a network. This is what happens when every node is very quickly infected in a runaway phenomenon. As Krebs suggests, the density of connections is a factor. "The network structure that enhances the transmission of good contagions -- such as ideas, solutions, and knowledge, can also be used to transmit bad contagion such as disease and fear." But it is not the only factor. A healthy population, an effective vaccine - these are things that slow and even stop a pandemic. That's why network structure needs to be resilient, why it's not simply a matter of connecting people, but rather, connecting them in the right way.
Today: 6 Total: 95 [Direct link] [Share]
