Linked : A Review

awake & reading: linked

I was linked to a book about connection and hubs by finding myself connected to a hub that recommended the book Linked.
Got it?

“One of the most fascinating aspects of the birth of a new science is the new language it creates, allowing us to casually converse about ideas and issues that we were struggling to describe before.” (p. 222, Linked, by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi)

Reading this book was somewhat like trying to decipher a hidden code. I had found some special document. I sensed it was significant and weighty. It was like I was in 6th grade, and had just gotten hold of the “heart-throb” Christina’s notebook in which she penned secret notes to friends, paper that passed hands when Coach Peddy’s back was turned. I had “gone back” to get my “sack lunch” from the classroom while everyone else was on the march to the cafetorinasium. Alone in the classroom I get my hands on the exclusive document. I scour the pages for some sense of mention or connection, some moment of, “Hey! She’s talking about me there!” … Turns out she was talking about Joe. Joe, Joe, and more Joe. Oh well.
(It's always Joe!)
Only, with this book I did feel like I found a mention of me!
Hi. I’m a node. I am a node among nodes in this network of links, hubs, and complex-architecture that fills our lives. The “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” thing is real and I’m connected to it (and him). I know it.
I guess that’s why the subtitle of the book is, “How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science, and Everyday Life.” In reading the book, there were many things (probably more related to business or science) that I just flat-out didn’t get. I’ll have to reread a few times, and pray for help. But I can’t deny some enlightened sense I have after the book. As I quoted before, it feels like I’m adjusting to this “new science” with a “new language” and will perhaps be able to find new expressions amidst digital struggles.
The concept of linked has much to do with our Internet and the readiness of information. And it also deals with societies – big and small. An entire country and a local drummer, all rely on links. People have links to others and in a sense we are known and connected by these links. Those with many links coming in are like HUBS. They can grow faster, have easier access to ALL things and function as real operators (like tallskinnykiwi, the “hub” from which I was linked to Linked). Connection relies not so much on individual nodes, but rather these hubs.
And, in early application, the book causes me to (somewhat) resolve to be a HUB (there’s a definite connection to “ministry” here)– to connect and serve others. The Church can and should function this way too. I’m sure others have begun this thought process, using this language already. I’m just glad I’ve been introduced to these new ABC’s.

-s.o

technorati tags: LINKED,HUB, ALBERT LASZLO BARABASI