Imagine a net. The nodes are the points of connection, the links are the rope between. A route is defined as any path from one node to another node. As long as the net is interconnected enough, a failure at one node only minimally impacts the route. A break in the link means that connection is served, but other connections can take over. In a well-distributed net, a failure at one point has little consequences.
But networks have vulnerabilities as well. Stresses on one node are spread throughout the network, distorting connections. A weak connection potentially weakens the ones around it. If the whole network is near the breaking point, a failure in one place can put enough stress on its neighbors so that they will fail, which puts stress on their neighbors and they fail, etc.
As networks (and by this, I mean the ways in which people connect to each other) proliferate, network effects become magnified. Just as an idea can spread like wildfire from person to person, faster now than ever before, so too can a catastrophic event which would previously be limited to one geographical area or interconnected group, affect entire regions. Think of an ice storm in Quebec knocking out power to the enitre Northeast. So what can we do to mitigate the interconnected destructive potential of networks while preserving their benefits?
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