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A review by samstillreading
The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread - and Why They Stop by Adam Kucharski
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