#29 – Albert-Laszlo Barabasi: The Hidden Order of Networks
From Scaling Theory by Thibault Schrepel
April 13, 2026 · 51 min
About this episode
Albert-László Barabási discusses the hidden order of networks and their scaling properties.
Welcome back to Scaling Theory. My guest today is Albert-László Barabási, Professor of Network Science at Northeastern University and one of the most cited scientists alive with over 320 000 citations. His books include Linked, The Formula, and Network Science. In 1999, Albert-László Barabási published a paper that changed how we understand networks. The finding was this: real-world networks are not random. They are dominated by hubs. A few nodes collect most of the links, and they do so because they already have them. In this episode, he explains the details of what he actually found. We then move to the scaling of networks, and the temptation to control them. We conclude with a discussion about art, ballet dancers, architecture, and what mapping careers across disciplines reveals about how networks really work. You can follow me on X (@ ProfSchrepel ) and BlueSky (@ ProfSchrepel ). References : ➝ Papers Barabási, A.-L. & Albert, R. "Emergence of Scaling in Random Networks." Science 286, no. 5439 (1999): 509–512. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.286.5439.509 Albert, R., Jeong, H. & Barabási, A.-L. "Diameter of the World-Wide Web." Nature 401 (1999): 130–131…
People in this episode
Host: Thibault Schrepel
Guest: Albert-László Barabási
Topics covered
- network science
- scaling of networks
- hubs in networks
- art and networks
- interdisciplinary connections
Keywords
- networks
- hubs
- scaling
- interdisciplinary
- network science
- Albert-László Barabási
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Northeastern University
Books & works: Linked, The Formula, Network Science, Emergence of Scaling in Random Networks, Diameter of the World-Wide Web, Collective Dynamics of 'Small-World' Networks, On Random Graphs
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