Really interesting article on networks, being scale-free and heresy. [Thanks Technodummy for this. ]
In the 13th century, Catholic inquisitors halted the spread of heresy by exploiting insights that look remarkably similar to the science we now use to describe networks as diverse as social structures, the spread of disease and the web.
Links:
MeshForum, Cascades and The Inquisition
On a new find (for me) and a link between physicians in Germany and the Early Modern Catholic Church.
Making of Memory (4)
On memory, metaphors, and a little bit of heresy