How can maths unravel how things are connected?

Friday 29th Apr 2016, 3.18pm

What is a network and how can you use mathematics to unravel the relationships between a variety of different things? How can this understanding then be applied to a range of different settings? Professor Mason Porter studies how things are connected using mathematics. He builds up models of these connections to represent them as networks. But what are the basic components of a network? Mason describes how from social networks online, to transport and huge range of other applications, mathematics of networks can be used to solve a whole host of problems and do useful things.