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Reviews
The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread - and Why They Stop by Adam Kucharski, Francesca Barrie
samstillreading's review against another edition
4.0
I’m starting to run a bit low on pandemic/epidemic non-fiction, so it was time to cast my net a bit wider. When I saw the striking cover of The Rules of Contagion, I couldn’t resist this book marked as a biohazard. It’s an interesting look at not just how contagion works in infectious diseases, but in areas you normally wouldn’t expect to be contagious like financial crises, memes and tweets. I guess we could also add GameStop shares and short selling to that.
Note that this book is pre-COVID, so you won’t find any references here. However, Kucharski writes in such an engaging and practical way that you could apply your new found knowledge easily. The R (reproduction) number is explained well, as is herd immunity and the general shape of an epidemic/pandemic. There are some great examples of past epidemics and pandemics, from typhoid in London to swine flu and more recently, Zika. There are also economic examples, such as how the GFC occurred from a contagion point of view. (Too big to fail is really too much interconnectedness). From a health point of view, these sections were interesting but less relevant. But putting my economics hat on, it was a really refreshing way to look at why things happen. The section on ‘going viral’ on social media was probably the weakest overall for me. I understand how it fits within contagion, but it just didn’t seem to flow as nicely. (Plus there was the realisation that I’m not connected enough to those who can make things spread. So are influencers now super-spreaders?)
Kucharski uses examples, graphs and diagrams to explain the theories behind contagion from historical times to almost today. It’s easy to grasp and he uses practical anecdotes that today’s reader would have heard of to illustrate his points. My only quibble is that I would have liked the health and non-health contagion sections to be split a little more obviously. I’d love to see contagion revisited post-pandemic to see what improved knowledge and theories there are, and how they have been used.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Note that this book is pre-COVID, so you won’t find any references here. However, Kucharski writes in such an engaging and practical way that you could apply your new found knowledge easily. The R (reproduction) number is explained well, as is herd immunity and the general shape of an epidemic/pandemic. There are some great examples of past epidemics and pandemics, from typhoid in London to swine flu and more recently, Zika. There are also economic examples, such as how the GFC occurred from a contagion point of view. (Too big to fail is really too much interconnectedness). From a health point of view, these sections were interesting but less relevant. But putting my economics hat on, it was a really refreshing way to look at why things happen. The section on ‘going viral’ on social media was probably the weakest overall for me. I understand how it fits within contagion, but it just didn’t seem to flow as nicely. (Plus there was the realisation that I’m not connected enough to those who can make things spread. So are influencers now super-spreaders?)
Kucharski uses examples, graphs and diagrams to explain the theories behind contagion from historical times to almost today. It’s easy to grasp and he uses practical anecdotes that today’s reader would have heard of to illustrate his points. My only quibble is that I would have liked the health and non-health contagion sections to be split a little more obviously. I’d love to see contagion revisited post-pandemic to see what improved knowledge and theories there are, and how they have been used.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
jb134's review
4.0
Great, timely read. Kucharski balances science and readability. He goes in depth, but not to a point where you lose interest. As criticism: the latter half of the book focuses on the internet and digital contagion. While interesting, it departs from the "rules" of contagion. Similarly, the warnings about big data and usage of our personal data seem misplaced. That is not to say they arent important and may point to "disease" potential in the digital world, I found it less engaging than the first 2/3 of the book (which is phenomenal and in Kucharski's wheelhouse).
horthhill's review
3.0
"The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread - and Why They Stop" by Adam Kucharski is so up to date that it mentions COVID-19. However, it seems to have been dropped into the text here and there, probably at the last conceivable minute. There is no real discussion about the present pandemic. The chapters about the R or the reproduction number were the most interesting to me. The latter chapters headed into directions that I'd rather skip over. I would have preferred more information about pandemics.
steve03's review
4.0
An interesting read, especially in the midst of a pandemic.
Doesn’t just cover infectious diseases but contagion in general, from computer viruses, viral content to how homicides spread.
Doesn’t just cover infectious diseases but contagion in general, from computer viruses, viral content to how homicides spread.
lauraross's review
4.0
This is a great, accessible book that dives into the ways that a variety of things spread. As someone who loves books about epidemiology and the spread of disease, I really enjoyed those sections of the book, but it was especially fascinating to hear those ideas applied to the spread of ideas and information.
mattwhitby's review
5.0
I very much enjoyed this. I was more interested by the idea of social contagion than the spread of disease. It ties into my thoughts about what will collectively do about stopping the spread of false news/conspiracy theories, etc.
bundy23's review
4.0
More mathematics than anything, also concentrates more on the spread of memes, social norms and computers than SARS, AIDS or Zica. A decent read though and I learned a few things.
fabio10's review
4.0
A book with very interesting ideas and concepts, but the overall flow is the only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars. The book jumps between various concepts and anecdotes but struggles to build an overall narrative to follow.