Epidemiology and Wireless Communication: Tight Analogy or Loose Metaphor?

Authors:
Stephen Eubank;V. S. Anil Kumar;Madhav Marathe
Affiliations:
Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory, VIrginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech,;Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory, VIrginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech,;Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory, VIrginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech,
Venue:
Bio-Inspired Computing and Communication
Year:
2008

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Abstract

The analogy between viral dynamics in humans and in computers is a detailed and useful one. At first glance, the extension to infectious disease epidemiology on human social networks and communication in wireless networks is also a compelling analogy. Mathematical epidemiology has a long history and seems to offer a biological inspiration for communication network design. In this paper, however, we argue that while epidemiology as a metaphor may hold insights into communication networks, the relationship is not concrete enough to permit us to adapt solutions from one domain to another. Our conclusion is that it is certain new mathematics and methodologies, rather than the results themselves, that are most likely to generalize well to communication systems.