On Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 05:06:03PM +0100, Jochen Fromm wrote: > Who said that cities are thriving places for humans? > I live in Berlin, which is not as big as London or > Tokio, but it is loud, crowded and polluted enough. > It is more exhausting than exciting to live here. Lots > of carcinogenic and pathogenic substances in the air. > You meet every day different people in the subway. > I think in a small city people know each other > much better, although you meet less people, you > are connected with more.
Strogatz was talking about the network effect, sometimes known as Metcalfe's law (also known as "there's little value in having the first telephone, who're you going to call?"). Without doubt, the power houses of innovation (whether business, science, technology or the arts) are in the big cities. This is no doubt because less than 1% of the population is responsible for this innovation, so it requires a reasonable population before you can connect with someone of similar or complementary interests. This network effect also draws the brightest to the larger cities, further compounding the network effect. The internet has helped to some extent in ameliorating this issue. I don't feel the attraction to move to a city like San Francisco or Boston, because I can have discusions in fora like this. This is just as well - where I live in Sydney, a city of more than 4 million, I have a beach at the bottom of my garden, and if compilation times are getting to me, I can just put on a mask and snorkel and swim with the fishes. http://www.gordonsbayscubadivingclub.com/ I never thought living in a big city could be so much fun. Cheers -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A/Prof Russell Standish Phone 0425 253119 (mobile) Mathematics UNSW SYDNEY 2052 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Australia http://www.hpcoders.com.au ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
