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12 reviews for:
La fórmula / The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success
Albert-László Barabási, Albert-László Barabási
3.91 AVERAGE
12 reviews for:
La fórmula / The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success
Albert-László Barabási, Albert-László Barabási
3.91 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
I would give this book to every high school graduate.
I stumbled on this one as it was linked to another book I'd been listening to and I'm really glad I did. I nearly didn't start it, thinking it would be one of those self-help American style "you can do it if you want to do it" type books, but it was quite different. Barabási is a Hungarian immigrant who has done real scientific research into networks and success and crunched substantial volumes of data in his quest to understand what makes the difference between for instance a Nobel prize winner and one of the other 50 co-authors on the papers that he wrote (I say he, because most Nobel winners are men, and he uncovers the reasons for this too - hint - if you're a woman, never collaborate in your research, you'll be shafted).
It's a positive forward looking book and an enjoyable read / listen
It's a positive forward looking book and an enjoyable read / listen
Mostly about success in science, not uninteresting. The core "laws of success" are not really surprising but still interesting to be visualized. Some insights:
- In the modern art industry, there is no objective measure for performance, and previous prestige thus exclusively determines later prestige. (The author calls this "network effects".)
- While performance is bounded, success is unbounded and distributed unevenly (comparable to financial wealth). Between the most successful people / institutions, there are often substantial differences in success, but they do not correspond to differences in performance.
- The initial reviews on Amazon or the initial support on Kickstarter determine the success of a product to a large extent. This is called "preferential attachment". Interestingly, this can be replicated quite easily in a controlled manner by writing early reviews / granting early support on these platforms. This may also imply that the order of comments in committee meetings plays a big role, the first comments having the most impact.
In general, success is determined by previous success, performance, endurance, and radomness. Because of the dependency on previous success, this is an exponential relationship with regard to time.
The role of networks and collaboration, which the author emphasizes, is a bit unclear. At one point, the conclusion is that since the 1990s in science collaborative publications are more successful than solitary publications; -- at another point it is mentioned that female economists attain tenure much less often than male economists, and that this can be traced back exclusively to their more (!) collaborative work style, with their contributions not being appropriately acknowledged.
The author (who is a well-informed and leading scientist) does not talk much about methodology, so that for the few surprising results that they report it is hard to firmly believe them. For example, I looked up the cited study that music concerts are judged by sight rather than hearing, and found a follow-up study that replicates the results but warns against over-interpreting them (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0202075). On the positive side, this lack of dry detail keeps the book short, digestible, and enjoyable.
- In the modern art industry, there is no objective measure for performance, and previous prestige thus exclusively determines later prestige. (The author calls this "network effects".)
- While performance is bounded, success is unbounded and distributed unevenly (comparable to financial wealth). Between the most successful people / institutions, there are often substantial differences in success, but they do not correspond to differences in performance.
- The initial reviews on Amazon or the initial support on Kickstarter determine the success of a product to a large extent. This is called "preferential attachment". Interestingly, this can be replicated quite easily in a controlled manner by writing early reviews / granting early support on these platforms. This may also imply that the order of comments in committee meetings plays a big role, the first comments having the most impact.
In general, success is determined by previous success, performance, endurance, and radomness. Because of the dependency on previous success, this is an exponential relationship with regard to time.
The role of networks and collaboration, which the author emphasizes, is a bit unclear. At one point, the conclusion is that since the 1990s in science collaborative publications are more successful than solitary publications; -- at another point it is mentioned that female economists attain tenure much less often than male economists, and that this can be traced back exclusively to their more (!) collaborative work style, with their contributions not being appropriately acknowledged.
The author (who is a well-informed and leading scientist) does not talk much about methodology, so that for the few surprising results that they report it is hard to firmly believe them. For example, I looked up the cited study that music concerts are judged by sight rather than hearing, and found a follow-up study that replicates the results but warns against over-interpreting them (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0202075). On the positive side, this lack of dry detail keeps the book short, digestible, and enjoyable.
* chance= right time & right place
* related background = preferential attachment
* network, network, network
@Bplus:
https://castbox.fm/vd/198799241
* related background = preferential attachment
* network, network, network
@Bplus:
https://castbox.fm/vd/198799241
This book was beyond awesome. A brilliant read, entertaining, and insightful even though Barabasi is restraining himself from offering too optimistic resolutions.
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Really interesting book, with well organized material. I learned about the author when I took a course in network science, a field that I became really interested in -- so when I stumbled upon this book I knew there would be some really interesting information.
There are lots of case studies and research projects by their team show how success (defined by how the community perceives your contributions) works. It breaks down the variety of network, butterfly, and snowball effects (specifically, preferential attachment) behind success. But there's also important pieces how individual traits: performance, fitness, persistence, and talent - are critical too.
My one gripe with this book is the writing style. I found that it was unnecessarily wordy in a lot of places, reading almost like a stuffy college application essay (tons of fancy adjectives and random anecdotes inserted for no real reason). At times I felt like the author just learned what adjectives are and what a thesaurus at the same time.
A great read overall.
There are lots of case studies and research projects by their team show how success (defined by how the community perceives your contributions) works. It breaks down the variety of network, butterfly, and snowball effects (specifically, preferential attachment) behind success. But there's also important pieces how individual traits: performance, fitness, persistence, and talent - are critical too.
My one gripe with this book is the writing style. I found that it was unnecessarily wordy in a lot of places, reading almost like a stuffy college application essay (tons of fancy adjectives and random anecdotes inserted for no real reason). At times I felt like the author just learned what adjectives are and what a thesaurus at the same time.
A great read overall.
A highly enlightening yet entertaining book about Success, written with scientific rigor yet with clearly applicable Laws for every aspect of life.
Barabási , Albert-László (2018) – The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success. New York NY: Little, Brown and Co. ISBN: 9780316505475. Pagine 321. 9,99 €.
Seguo Barabási da quando uscì Linked nel 2003 (il libro mi era piaciuto tantissimo, e ha ispirato un mio duraturo interesse per la network analysis e anche qualche sua applicazione scientifica e analitica). Con un po’ meno di entusiasmo, ma sempre con molto interesse, avevo poi letto Bursts: l’ho recensito qui, dove do conto delle mie perplessità.
Se possibile, questo The Formula mi ha lasciato ancora più perplesso. Barabási e il suo gruppo studiano la scienza del successo (anzi, the Science of Success: proprio così, maiuscole e tutto, e senza nemmeno scoppiare a ridere sùbito dopo). E il libro presenta i risultati cui sono pervenuti: niente meno che le leggi universali del successo. Scusate se è poco.
In effetti, Barabási dice di rifuggere dagli aneddoti e di volersi distaccare dagli innumerevoli libri di self-help che affollano gli scaffali di management delle librerie. È proprio convinto di avere scoperto cinque leggi scientifiche, universali. Ma poi racconta, racconta… Certamente bene: Barabási ha talento per questo. E le leggi le espone, e le commenta, e le arricchisce di aneddoti spesso gustosi. Racconta le ricerche fatte da lui e dal suo gruppo; racconta il quando e il come dei momenti “eureka”, le false partenze e il lieto fine. Quello che non ho trovato è la “divulgazione” o, meglio, la “comunicazione della scienza”. Le 5 leggi universali sembrano davvero “consigli” da libro di self-help, e non leggi scientifiche. E – anche se in nota ci sono riferimenti alla letteratura scientifica a sostegno di queste tesi – la trattazione è esortativa, se non “motivazionale”.
A questo punto vi sarete incuriositi. Eccovi le cinque leggi:
Performance drives success, but when performance can’t be measured, networks drive success.
Performance is bounded, but success is unbounded.
Previous success x fitness = future success.
While team success requires diversity and balance, a single individual will receive credit for the group’s achievements.
With persistence success can come at any time.
Una curiosità: non sapevo che tandem in inglese si potesse usare anche per più persone, non soltanto due (“[…] six key collaborators: […] They work in tandem” – p. 178)
Barabási è bravo e quindi, nonostante tutto, il libro è ricco di spunti interessanti:
Seemingly, it’s the last person who makes a discovery that really matters, not the first. (p. 24)
Context matters when we assess value. (p. 60)
The Duchampian reality is that these cues shape our perception, frame our understanding, and set the market price. (p. 62)
[…] the bigger the team was, the more lopsided were the individual contributions to the final product. […] The more they were dominated by a single leader, the more successful they were. (p. 184; il corsivo è dell’autore)
[…] female economists pay an enormous penalty for collaborating. To be clear, men pay no price for collaborative work. They can work alone, in partnerships, or in groups, and their chances of tenure will remain the same. Women, on the other hand, collaborate at their own peril. From a tenure perspective, if you’re a female economist publishing with men, you might as well not publish at all. (p. 214; i corsivi sono dell’autore)
Success wanes because everything ages, falling victim to an “attention economy.” (p. 238)
Seguo Barabási da quando uscì Linked nel 2003 (il libro mi era piaciuto tantissimo, e ha ispirato un mio duraturo interesse per la network analysis e anche qualche sua applicazione scientifica e analitica). Con un po’ meno di entusiasmo, ma sempre con molto interesse, avevo poi letto Bursts: l’ho recensito qui, dove do conto delle mie perplessità.
Se possibile, questo The Formula mi ha lasciato ancora più perplesso. Barabási e il suo gruppo studiano la scienza del successo (anzi, the Science of Success: proprio così, maiuscole e tutto, e senza nemmeno scoppiare a ridere sùbito dopo). E il libro presenta i risultati cui sono pervenuti: niente meno che le leggi universali del successo. Scusate se è poco.
In effetti, Barabási dice di rifuggere dagli aneddoti e di volersi distaccare dagli innumerevoli libri di self-help che affollano gli scaffali di management delle librerie. È proprio convinto di avere scoperto cinque leggi scientifiche, universali. Ma poi racconta, racconta… Certamente bene: Barabási ha talento per questo. E le leggi le espone, e le commenta, e le arricchisce di aneddoti spesso gustosi. Racconta le ricerche fatte da lui e dal suo gruppo; racconta il quando e il come dei momenti “eureka”, le false partenze e il lieto fine. Quello che non ho trovato è la “divulgazione” o, meglio, la “comunicazione della scienza”. Le 5 leggi universali sembrano davvero “consigli” da libro di self-help, e non leggi scientifiche. E – anche se in nota ci sono riferimenti alla letteratura scientifica a sostegno di queste tesi – la trattazione è esortativa, se non “motivazionale”.
A questo punto vi sarete incuriositi. Eccovi le cinque leggi:
Performance drives success, but when performance can’t be measured, networks drive success.
Performance is bounded, but success is unbounded.
Previous success x fitness = future success.
While team success requires diversity and balance, a single individual will receive credit for the group’s achievements.
With persistence success can come at any time.
Una curiosità: non sapevo che tandem in inglese si potesse usare anche per più persone, non soltanto due (“[…] six key collaborators: […] They work in tandem” – p. 178)
Barabási è bravo e quindi, nonostante tutto, il libro è ricco di spunti interessanti:
Seemingly, it’s the last person who makes a discovery that really matters, not the first. (p. 24)
Context matters when we assess value. (p. 60)
The Duchampian reality is that these cues shape our perception, frame our understanding, and set the market price. (p. 62)
[…] the bigger the team was, the more lopsided were the individual contributions to the final product. […] The more they were dominated by a single leader, the more successful they were. (p. 184; il corsivo è dell’autore)
[…] female economists pay an enormous penalty for collaborating. To be clear, men pay no price for collaborative work. They can work alone, in partnerships, or in groups, and their chances of tenure will remain the same. Women, on the other hand, collaborate at their own peril. From a tenure perspective, if you’re a female economist publishing with men, you might as well not publish at all. (p. 214; i corsivi sono dell’autore)
Success wanes because everything ages, falling victim to an “attention economy.” (p. 238)