1
Through the concept of six degrees of separation, the whole world can be connected image

Through the concept of six degrees of separation, the whole world can be connected

August 17th, 2010 2:53 am

Six degrees of separation defines that given any two persons in the world, they can be related through at most six “friends of”. This concept was founded in 1995 and it has became part of the most welcomed notion being used around the world. It is also known as the Small World Phenomenon.

six degrees of seperation

The phrase six degrees of separation is permanently etched into our collective psyches. The idea that every person in the world is generally no more than six degrees or connections removed from each other is a powerful, sticky concept that resonates with many people. Web 2.0 technologies, a continuation of the advancement of communication capabilities, may be helping us cut that average in half, especially through social networking sites like Facebook and microblogging services like Twitter.

Six degrees of separation

This catch phrase was inspired by the results of the “small world” experiments conducted by social psychologist Stanley Milgram in the United States of America in 1967 in order to determine how long it would take to get a letter from one stranger to another. After the results of this test were analyzed, Milgram’s team determined that the average path length, or the number of connections required to get from one point to another, was approximately 5.5, which rounds up to six.

Watch the documentary unfolding the science behind the idea of six degrees of separation. Originally thought to be an urban myth, it now appears that anyone on the planet can be connected in just a few steps of association. Six degrees of separation is also at the heart of a major scientific breakthrough; that there might be a law which nature uses to organize itself and that now promises to solve some of its deepest mysteries.

Interesting Links :
Microsoft proves there are just six degrees of separation between us
Six Degrees of Separation, Twitter Style

  1. Eddy Young says:
    August 17, 2010 at 8:00 am

    Before MySpace, before Facebook, before LinkedIn, hell, before Google became popular, there was a site called sixdegrees.net. Sadly, it was too bleeding edge for its time and never got the traction that social networks have nowadays. I should look up what became of them but am too lazy :)

    Eddy.