The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread--And Why They Stop

從流行疾病、金融危機到假新聞，一部絕對及時的作品，帶領我們看見「傳播」如何發生，而惡性的「感染」又該如何遏止。
 
　　為什麼要控制SARS和新冠肺炎這類的新興傳染疾病如此困難？為什麼經濟泡沫化這麼嚴重？為什麼那些誇大不實的行銷活動這麼成功？為什麼YouTuber一個舉動就瞬間蔚為風潮，政壇一點風吹草動就謠言四起？為什麼在這個時代資訊傳播變得像傳染病一樣，人們一下子就集體「感染」？
 
　　倫敦衛生與熱帶學院助理教授、《勝算：賭的科學與決策智慧》作者亞當・庫查司基，從諾貝爾醫學獎得主羅納德．羅斯建構的瘧疾傳染模式談起，深入探討傳染疾病、槍枝氾濫、網路輿論操控等議題，分析關於「傳播」的知識。
 
　　本書不僅僅探討疾病如何爆發，更全面解析當代社會資訊傳播的方式，無論你是想利用傳播原理為自己的品牌行銷，或想遏止不實訊息的散播，或單純對於人類行為充滿好奇，都能從本書獲得方法和解答。(文/博客來編譯)

　　One of the Best Books of 2020 — Financial Times
　　One of the "Most 2020 Books of 2020" — Washington Post
　　One of the Best Science Books of 2020 — The Times of London
　　One of the Best Science Books of 2020 — The Guardian
 
　　From ideas and infections to financial crises and fake news, an "utterly timely" look at why the science of outbreaks is the science of modern life

　　These days, whenever anything spreads, whether it's a YouTube fad or a political rumor, we say it went viral. But how does virality actually work? In The Rules of Contagion, epidemiologist Adam Kucharski explores topics including gun violence, online manipulation, and, of course, outbreaks of disease to show how much we get wrong about contagion, and how astonishing the real science is.
 
　　Why did the president retweet a Mussolini quote as his own? Why do financial bubbles take off so quickly? Why are disinformation campaigns so effective? And what makes the emergence of new illnesses -- such as MERS, SARS, or the coronavirus disease COVID-19 -- so challenging? By uncovering the crucial factors driving outbreaks, we can see how things really spread -- and what we can do about it.
 
　　Whether you are an author seeking an audience, a defender of truth, or simply someone interested in human social behavior, The Rules of Contagion is an essential guide to modern life.

Adam Kucharski is an associate professor and a Sir Henry Dale fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where he works on analysis of infectious disease outbreaks. The author of The Perfect Bet, he lives in London.