Bursts: The Hidden Pattern Behind Everything We Do

By Albert-László Barabási (Dutton)
In his first book, Linked, Barabási introduced us to the interrelatedness of the universe and to the emerging field of network science. Here, the physicist shows how to use that knowledge to predict seemingly random human behavior. Or the spread of a viral epidemic through populations. Or the convoluted trails that money follows. Like the “unexplained” erratic motion of tiny objects floating through water that fascinated Einstein at the turn of the 20th century, apparent stochasticity, says Barabási, can all be explained—and predicted—by elegant mathematical formulas. And for the first time in history, we’re beginning to have the right data to plug into such formulas. Using algorithms built in his lab, fueled by reams of data we unthinkingly create in our daily digital interactions (carrying around and communicating with mobile devices, withdrawing money from ATMs, making online purchases), Barabási demonstrates how much of human activity occurs in quantifiable patterns known as “bursts.” These bursts seem to define us: from our emailing and web-browsing patterns to how we move about the world. But in Bursts, this realization surfaces only as the sum effect of a nigh-schizoid storyteller’s account of historical and personal events. Driven by colorful characters and an experimental plot structure that jumps between ostensibly unrelated narratives, the book weaves a bloody crusade, the papacy, 9/11, and FBI surveillance into a tidy package. The effect is enthralling: less like listening to a lecture at a research conference, and more like sitting at a bar with a clever friend who charms you with his semi-implausible anecdotes. After nursing the last beer, beyond being amused, you’ll have learned something truly profound about the curious paths of human activity.