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Human dynamics

Darwin and Einstein correspondence patterns

Nature volume 437, page 1251 (2005)Cite this article

These scientists prioritized their replies to letters in the same way that people rate their e-mails today.

Abstract

In an era when letters were the main means of exchanging scientific ideas and results, Charles Darwin (1809–82) and Albert Einstein (1879–1955) were notably prolific correspondents. But did their patterns of communication differ from those associated with the instant-access e-mail of modern times? Here we show that, although the means have changed, the communication dynamics have not: Darwin's and Einstein's patterns of correspondence and today's electronic exchanges follow the same scaling laws. However, the response times of their surface-mail communication is described by a different scaling exponent from e-mail communication, providing evidence for a new class of phenomena in human dynamics.

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Figure 1: The correspondence patterns of Darwin and Einstein.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Complex Network Research and Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, 46556, Indiana, USA

    João Gama Oliveira & Albert-László Barabási

  2. Departamento de Física, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, 3810-193, Portugal

    João Gama Oliveira

  3. Center for Cancer Systems Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Albert-László Barabási

Authors
  1. João Gama Oliveira
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  2. Albert-László Barabási
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Correspondence to Albert-László Barabási.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Oliveira, J., Barabási, AL. Darwin and Einstein correspondence patterns. Nature 437, 1251 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/4371251a

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