Bursts: The Hidden Pattern Behind Everything We Do Audiobook

" Nothing we do is random. Everything is within a routine or expected area of acting. Very interesting read. "

" The overall concept of this book is interesting - and the chapters that actually focus on the math and science of human predictability were very interesting and informative. However, these chapters could have been developed a lot more, easily displacing the historical thread that just didn't seem to fit. Essentially, there are two 'books' here. One is the history lesson - which if further developed could have provided a bit more foundation for those of us having no knowledge of the crusades. The second is essentially a scientific paper, but as written, without enough data to be published as such. Without focusing on either the history or the human behavior, the reader is left to try to understand what the author is getting at throughout the book - and then at the end, is left with a sense of disappointment because of the book's lack of closure/conclusions. "

" A little bit of a disappointment after I've read dozens of his scientific papers; whether this would have been my feedback had I not set my expectations very high, there's no way to tell. I plan to read "Linked" next. "

" This one was a disappointment for me. I found the basic idea interesting--that the daily pattern of human activity is bursty--short flourishes of activity followed by randomness because I have noticed that pattern myself but I did not learn any more about that pattern from reading this book. Barabasi uses long drawn out examples to prove his point--I lost interest in the examples and skipped to the straight science. It was almost like he was trying to be Malcolm Gladwell, pulling together disparate examples and showing how they connect only it wasn't working the way it does for Gladwell... because Brabasi doesn't really show the relevance. In particular there is a long historical example that would be interesting in a different context but which does not seem to have any relevancy to the topic. Then he started talking about how most humans are predictable in their behavior arcs with only a few outliers who are not predictable. Interesting, but he doesn't shed any light on why outliers are different. He does bring to public attention the chilling reality that pretty soon we will be completely trackable by machines, unless we as a society takes steps to stop it--but he doesn't take any kind of strong stand on this. Ultimately, the book is really light on science and didn't provide many insights. "

" Unlike most reviewers, I enjoyed this book, if only to learn about Gyorgy Szekely. Bursts doesn't do as great a job as some of the more well-polished books written by Gladwell or Dubner/Levitt, but I got the point--many things in nature, or in human nature, develop in a pattern of "bursts," rather than in a steady rhythm. Probably could have been an article. "

" It took me four months to read a book that was comprised of mostly ten-page-long chapters. Burst that, Barabasi. "

" The science is kinda cool, but 2/3 of the book is an incredibly jumbled dive into the tale of 15th century proto-revolutionary Doza Gyorgy. "

" Ok, interesting idea of large chunks of our life comes in bursts with longer periods of no activity and that there is a power law function that describes the distribution. Didn't get the medieval battles in Transylanvia as good analog to the book's theme. "

" Parts of this were really interesting, and Barabasi writes very clearly. But I am just not the audience for a bunch of math talk. "

" I can't get through this book. The author jumps from event to event, seemingly without any point. "

" This guy also wrote a book called Linked. Interesting Theories! "

" kind of drags on. Linked is supposed to be good, so I think I'll try that one... "

" Couldn't finish it. Very disjointed and hard to follow. I wasn't interested in it anymore. With all the good books out there to read, I just don't have time to waste on this particular one. "

" This book was not what I expected. "

" While interesting, the structure of this book was somewhat disjointed. Additionally, there was not as much mathematics as I was expecting. Overall, "Linked" is a much better book. "

" Very good book with information on using science and mathematics for predicting outcomes. No applications mentioned for medical sciences but lots about predicting human behavior. Good fundamental information about prediction science. "

" This guy also wrote a book called Linked. Interesting Theories! "

" Apart from the confusing/distracting Hungarian history B story, the big problem with this book is the lack of a takeaway. Humans are predictable, more so than we think. Now what do I do differently knowing that? "

" Interesting, but ultimately disappointing. Failed to deliver on its promise. "

" The science is kinda cool, but 2/3 of the book is an incredibly jumbled dive into the tale of 15th century proto-revolutionary Doza Gyorgy. "

" I can't get through this book. The author jumps from event to event, seemingly without any point. "

" Parts of this were really interesting, and Barabasi writes very clearly. But I am just not the audience for a bunch of math talk. "

" A compelling read, nice mixture of historical events and the randomness of human behavior (seemingly) "

" Very good book with information on using science and mathematics for predicting outcomes. No applications mentioned for medical sciences but lots about predicting human behavior. Good fundamental information about prediction science. "

" Interesting but a bit disconnected. Maybe the author was trying to demonstrate bursts in his writing. "