Scan barcode
A review by davidr
Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another by Philip Ball
4.0
This book is about applying the methods of physics and mathematics to sociology. There are no equations in this book, and it is easy to follow--but the discussion is unnecessarily verbose as a result. Some equations could have kept the discussion more concise, and perhaps easier to understand, also.
The book introduces some of the concepts of statistical thermodynamics and phase transitions. The most interesting aspect of this book is the analogies between many-particle interactions and the "tipping points" that occur in human affairs. Whereas Malcolm Gladwell's [b:The Tipping Point|2612|The Tipping Point|Malcolm Gladwell|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41iEG6VDU9L._SL75_.jpg|2124255] contains many interesting examples of tipping points, this book by Philip Ball helps to explain better why they happen. He shows that whereas random phenomena often take on a Gaussian distribution, many-particle interactions take on a power law distribution. He applies these concepts to a wide array of interesting social phenomena, including crowds leaving a room, city expansion and segregation, traffic flow, the stock market, the growth and shrinking of companies, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and politics and voting.
The book begins and ends with multiple chapters about political philosophy. Maybe a single chapter would have been desirable, but I thought it was way too much, especially considering that the main theme of the books was about applying quantitative methods to sociology.
The book introduces some of the concepts of statistical thermodynamics and phase transitions. The most interesting aspect of this book is the analogies between many-particle interactions and the "tipping points" that occur in human affairs. Whereas Malcolm Gladwell's [b:The Tipping Point|2612|The Tipping Point|Malcolm Gladwell|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41iEG6VDU9L._SL75_.jpg|2124255] contains many interesting examples of tipping points, this book by Philip Ball helps to explain better why they happen. He shows that whereas random phenomena often take on a Gaussian distribution, many-particle interactions take on a power law distribution. He applies these concepts to a wide array of interesting social phenomena, including crowds leaving a room, city expansion and segregation, traffic flow, the stock market, the growth and shrinking of companies, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and politics and voting.
The book begins and ends with multiple chapters about political philosophy. Maybe a single chapter would have been desirable, but I thought it was way too much, especially considering that the main theme of the books was about applying quantitative methods to sociology.