Albert-László Barabási

Albert-László Barabási http://www.nd.edu/~alb/ Author of Linked: The New Science of Networks (Perseus, Cambridge, MA, 2002) and co-author of The Structure and Dynamics of Networks (Princeton University Press, 2006 in press).

From wikipedia: Albert-Laszlo Barabasi (Barabási Albert-László) is the Emil T. Hofmann professor of physics at the University of Notre Dame. He is noted for research into scale-free networks and biological networks. He is an ethnic szekler born in Transylvania. He studied engineering in Romania, next took a master in Hungary, and now is a U.S. Permanent Resident.

Barabasi has been a major contributor to the development of real-world network, together with several other scientists from physics, mathematics, and computer science, including Steve Strogatz and Mark Newman. Barabasi's biggest role has been the introduction of the scale-free network concept, as well as a popularizer of network theory. Among the topics in network theory that Barabasi has studied are growth and preferential attachment, the mechanisms responsible for the structure of the World Wide Web or the cell.

According to the review of one of Barabasi's books, preferential attachment can be described as follows:

"Barabasi has found that the websites that form the network (of the WWW) have certain mathematical properties. The conditions for these properties to occur are threefold.

• The first is that the network has to be expanding, growing. This precondition of growth is very important as the idea of emergence comes with it. It is constantly evolving and adapting. That condition exists markedly with the world wide web.
• The second is the condition of preferential attachment, that is, nodes (websites) will wish to link themselves to hubs (websites) with the most connections.
• The third condition is what is termed competitive fitness which in network terms means its rate of attraction."

This is one of those books for which its impact will depend a great deal on the mental framework of the reader. For me, it was astounding, brilliant, and altered my perspective on many problems.

For the entreprenurial spirit, and for Zaadz itself, it may offer profound insights.

(with apologies to Percy Dovetonsils)

I have a spelling checquer
It came with my pea sea
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea

Eye ran this poem threw it
Your sure real glad two no
It's vary polished in it's weigh
My checker tolled me sew

A checker is a bless sing
It freeze yew lodes of thyme
It helps me awl stiles two reed
And aides me when aye rime

To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should be proud
And wee mussed dew the best wee can
Sew flaws are knot aloud

And now bee cause my spelling
is checked with such grate flare
Their are know faults with in my site
Of nun eye am a wear

Each frays comes posed up on my screen
Eye trussed to be a joule
The checker poured o'er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule

That's why aye brake in two averse
By righting wants too pleas
Sow now ewe sea why aye dew prays
Such soft wear for pea seas

 

E. Bear

 

I don't know who E. Bear is - I came across this delightful poem years ago and have no other artifact from its author. Since I frequently use the incorrect spelling of common words or blindly allow the spell checker to incorrectly correct words I use, I thought this fine little ditty should crawl off my hard drive into the public eye once more, if only because in truth, I am ever so grateful for the spell checker provided by Zaadz!

Blezzing to all from the Most Comical Ambazzador Goodsoul