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Short Takes on the Literature

In the burgeoning literature on engineering systems and related fields, we can all use some navigational aids. To that end, the ESD Working Paper series introduces a new feature "Short Takes on the Literature" in which brief informal commentaries by MIT people on books, reports and papers in our field are made available to the community. We hope you find these of value and will also see fit to contribute your own opinions on the literature as well.

Papers & Reviews:

ESD-WP-LIT-2003-04-Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning by Martin J. Rees—reviewed by Christopher L. Magee

ESD-WP-LIT-2003-03-ESD Summer Reading For Faculty Suggestions From Joe Sussman June 1, 2003 by Joseph M. Sussman, JR East Professor, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

ESD-WP-LIT-2003-02-Links Between Structure and Behavior in Complex Networks: What the Literature Says by Daniel E. Whitney

Most literature on complex networks looks at networks that have evolved naturally, even if humans are involved. Protein networks in cells and the WWW are examples, as are networks of actors, co-authors, and power grids. None can be said to have been designed according to conscious principles or to have a supervisor that directs how they are put together. Nevertheless they display internal structure. There is in the literature a considerable amount of speculation as to what properties or behaviors these structures impart to the networks, as well as considerable disagreement among researchers. If a network analysis were to be done on their papers and reference lists, it is likely that two disjoint clusters would emerge, one centered on Doyle and Carlson (called DC below) the other centered on Barabasi, Strogatz, and Watts (called BSW below). Even when these researchers discuss the same topic, such as percolation or power laws, they never cite each other and almost never cite the same third parties.

ESD-WP-LIT-2003-01- Normal Accidents by Charles Perrow—reviewed by Daniel E Whitney

This book is a classic analysis of complex systems conducted from the point of view of a social scientist. It was the first, or one of the first, to propose a framework for characterizing complex technological systems such as air traffic, marine traffic, chemical plants, dams, and especially nuclear power plants according to their riskiness. “Normal” accidents are called that because they seem to start with something that seems ordinary or that happens all the time, almost always without causing great harm. Perrow also uses a term that seems better, system accidents, which conveys the idea that apparently trivial events cascade through the system in unpredictable ways to cause a large event with severe consequences.

 

 
         
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