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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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