This open access book explores the amazing similarity between paths taken by people and many
other things in life and its impact on the way we live teach and learn. Offering insights
into the new scientific field of paths as part of the science of networks it entertainingly
describes the universal nature of paths in large networked structures. It also shows the
amazing similarity in the ways humans and other - even nonliving - things navigate in a complex
environment to allow readers to easily grasp how paths emerge in many walks of life and how
they are navigated. Paths is based on the authors recent research in the area of paths on
networks which points to the possible birth of the new science of paths as a natural
consequence 'and extension) of the science of networks. The approach is essentially story-based
supported by scientific findings interdisciplinary approaches and at times even
philosophical points of view. It also includes short illustrative anecdotes showing the amazing
similarities between real-world paths and discusses their applications in science and everyday
life. Paths will appeal to network scientists and to anyone interested in popular science. By
helping readers to step away from the networked view of many recent popular scientific books
and start to think of longer paths instead of individual links it sheds light on these
problems from a genuinely new perspective.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The path is
the goal. The essence behind this short sentence is known to many people around the world
expressed through the interpretations of some of the greatest thinkers like Lao-Tze and Gandhi.
It means that it is the journey that counts not the destination. When speaking about such
subjective and intangible things philosophy and religion are some of the only approaches that
are addressed. In this book the authors address this conventional wisdom from the perspective
of natural science. They explore a sequence of steps that leads the reader closer to the nature
of paths and accompany him on the search for the path to paths.
