Networks
This MIT OpenCourseWare course examines the shared principles behind how networks function, whether they are financial systems, power grids, social networks, or the internet. It covers why networks can be robust to some shocks yet fragile to others, and how interlinkages between components create cascading failures. Conceptual tools come from dynamical systems, random graph models, optimization, and game theory, applied across case studies spanning economics, engineering, and computer science. Materials include lecture notes, problem sets, and readings drawn from MIT's Economics and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science departments. The course is free to audit through MIT OpenCourseWare, with no certificate offered, and suits learners with some background in probability and basic mathematical modeling who want a rigorous, cross-disciplinary treatment of network behavior rather than a single-field introduction.