Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
The
maximum degree
can be particularly interesting. For example, in a
social network, the node with the maximum degree is the one with the most
connected nodes. The assumption in “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” is that
Kevin Bacon is a highly connected person—that is, that he has a very high
degree, making it easy to connect to him.
High-degree people in social networks can be critical in the success of
spreading a message or spreading a virus. Consider Gaëtan Dugas, an early
HIV case in the 1980s. Gaëtan is node “0” in the graph shown in
Figure
4-3
. Through the analysis of relationships across various states (shown as
two letters), cases were sequenced (shown as numbers) and connected back
to Gaëtan. He became known as “patient zero” because he was the earliest
known patient in this study.
