Diffusion in networks and the virtue of burstiness
Abstract
The contagion of disease and the diffusion of information depend on personal contact. People are not always available to interact with those around them, and the timing of people’s activities determines whether people have opportunities to meet and transmit a germ, idea, etc., and ultimately whether widespread contagion or diffusion occurs. We show that, in a simple model of contagion or diffusion, the greatest levels of spreading occur when there is heterogeneity in activity patterns: Some people are active for long periods of time and then inactive for long periods, changing their availability only infrequently, while other people alternate frequently between being active and inactive. This observation has policy implications for limiting contagious diseases as well as promoting diffusion of information.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jul 09, 2018
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.1722089115
Entities
People
- Matthew O. Jackson
- Mohammad Akbarpour
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
- National Science Foundation
- Santa Fe Institute
- Stanford University
- United States Army