In the space of about 40 years, the world has seen a digital networking revolution that has shaped our lives to an unimaginable degree. The first computer network, the ARPANET (circa 1970), had just four nodes; today, the Internet seamlessly connects us to virtually every corner of the world. The first email was sent in 1971, the World Wide Web came into existence in 1990, Google's search engine debuted in 1998, while most social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are less than five year's old!
How should one make sense of this exciting, new landscape of social and information networks? What are some characteristics of network structure (e.g. friend relationships on Facebook; hyperlinks on the Web etc.) that can help us analyze and quantify the complexity of networks? What models can explain network dynamics (e.g. the six degrees of separation phenomenon, so-called 'tipping' points, the spread of epidemics etc.) and strategic interactions in networks (e.g. sponsored search in Google)? These are some of the questions that we will study in the course using ideas from computer science, mathematical game theory and the social sciences. This course also satisfies the Additional Mathematics/Computer Science (2B) requirement in the GenEd requirements.
We will use the book, Networks, Crowds and Markets by D. Easley and J. Kleinberg as our textbook. The tentative schedule of topics to be covered in class comes with the corresponding reading assignments. It is extremely important for you to do all the reading in advance of the class. There will be no "lecture" format; rather, we will choose questions posted by students to have a round-table discussion of corresponding topics.
From time to time, I will present some material on the board but for the most part, this will be a course where everyone is expected to participate in discussions. This may involve using the board or other means of presentation as appropriate.