SOCIETY AGAINST CHANCE: NETWORK THEORY AND THE NEW CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Abstract

In this brief work, we try to present in a didactic way some fundamentals of the so-called network theory, more specifically the concepts of “small world effect”, “giant component” and “percolation”, which help in understanding the fast spread of the new coronavirus pandemic. As a theory organized based on dialogue between different disciplines, such as physics, mathematics, biology and sociology itself, we believe it is essential to expand the contact of social scientists with the main concepts and empirical findings in this transdisciplinary field.

Keywords
Network theory; SARS-Cov-2; small world effect; percolation