Concept Connectivity Analysis: Indegree vs Outdegree

Identifying orphaned nodes and connection patterns in a learning graph

Node Categories

Foundational Concepts

Green dots: No prerequisites, but other concepts depend on them (indegree=0, outdegree>0)

Intermediate Concepts

Blue dots: Well-connected nodes with both prerequisites and dependents (indegree>0, outdegree>0)

Orphaned Concepts

Red dots: Terminal nodes with prerequisites but no dependents (indegree>0, outdegree=0)

Connectivity Metrics

12
Foundational (6%)
164
Intermediate (82%)
24
Orphaned (12%)
✓ 12% orphaned (healthy range: 5-15%)

Analysis

Foundational Zone (left edge): Concepts along the left edge (indegree=0) are foundational concepts that serve as entry points to the learning graph. A healthy graph should have 5-10% foundational concepts.

Orphaned Zone (bottom edge): Concepts along the bottom edge (outdegree=0) are terminal or orphaned concepts. Having 5-15% orphaned concepts is healthy, as these represent advanced topics or specializations.

Intermediate Concepts (bulk): The majority of concepts should cluster in the middle, representing well-connected nodes that both depend on and support other concepts.

Quality Assessment: This graph shows a healthy distribution with strong connectivity patterns and appropriate orphan percentage.