Week 9: Scale-free networks and the friendship paradox

Content for the week of Monday, March 9, 2026

Tuesday

Assignment Due:

• Final Project Idea
• Troubled Lands Reflection
• Reading Review

Readings:

• Feld, Scott L. (1991), Why your friends have more friends than you do. American Journal of Sociology, 96 (6): 1464–1477. https://doi.org/10.1086%2F229693

• Early Detection of an Outbreak using the Friendship Paradox

• Networks are everywhere with Albert-László Barabási

• (Optional) Christakis, N. A., & Fowler, J. H. (2010). Social Network Sensors for Early Detection of Contagious Outbreaks. PLOS ONE, 5(9), e12948. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012948

Lecture Video:

• Scale-free networks and the Friendship Paradox [18:21]

• Slides

Thursday

Class Schedule:

• Troubled Lands Activity