Remember that a network consists of nodes and edges. Depending on the application,
the nodes could stand for people, offices, street intersections, or whatever. The edges
tell us how the nodes are connected.
Finding the shortest distance between two nodes in a graph is a common problem.
Navigation software does this, but so do algorithms that target advertising in social
network apps, and so does the predictive text feature of your phone.
Below, we find some landmarks in Lynchburg, connected by edges that could
represent distance or travel time between these locations. Those who know the geography
of the city well will certainly realize that the distances on our "map" do not
represent reality. Nevertheless, we may navigate the map in an attempt to find the
shortest travel distance between locations.
Paths Through Lynchburg