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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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