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6 Degrees of Separation
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| FunkyCrew |
| quote: | | Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one "step" away from each person he or she knows and two "steps" away from each person who is known by one of the people he or she knows, then everyone is no more than six "steps" away from each person on Earth. |
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do you guys believe in this? There is a group on facebook which I was invited to by a friend (http://yorku.facebook.com/group.php...15880552&ref=nf)
I find this interesting but a bit hard to believe...
another interesting article - Small world experiment
| quote: | 1. Though the experiment went through several variations, Milgram typically chose individuals in the U.S. cities Omaha, Wichita, and Boston, to be the start and end points of a chain of correspondence. These cities were selected because they represented a great distance in the United States, both socially and geographically.
2. Information packets were initially sent to randomly selected individuals in Omaha or Wichita. They included letters, which detailed the study's purpose, and basic information about a target contact person in Boston. It additionally contained a roster on which they could write their own name, as well as business reply cards that were pre-addressed to Harvard.
3. Upon receiving the invitation to participate, the recipient was asked whether he or she personally knew the contact person described in the letter. If so, the person was to forward the letter directly to that person. For the purposes of this study, knowing someone "personally" is defined as knowing them on a first-name basis.
4. In the more likely case that the person did not personally know the target, then the person was to think of a friend or relative they know personally that is more likely to know the target. They were then directed to sign their name on the roster and forward the packet to that person. A postcard was also mailed to the researchers at Harvard so that they could track the chain's progression toward the target.
5. When and if the package eventually reached the contact person in Boston, the researchers could examine the roster to count the number of times it had been forwarded from person to person. Additionally, for packages that never reached the destination, the incoming postcards helped identify the break point in the chain. |
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| Abercrombie |
| Yeah, I'm on it :) |
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| nusty |
| If you know me then you can cut it down to 3 degrees of separation. :p |
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| rabbitjoker |
| Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon |
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| shanny |
| quote: | Originally posted by rabbitjoker
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon |
Oh Kevin! |
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| FunkyCrew |
| quote: | Originally posted by nusty
If you know me then you can cut it down to 3 degrees of separation. :p |
well I don't do I?:p |
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| nusty |
| quote: | Originally posted by FunkyCrew
well I don't do I?:p |
you likely know someone I know so you probably can knock it down to 4 or 5 degrees which would still save you a degree or two. ;)
wait does 'knowing' someone online count? |
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| FunkyCrew |
| quote: | Originally posted by nusty
you likely know someone I know so you probably can knock it down to 4 or 5 degrees which would still save you a degree or two. ;)
wait does 'knowing' someone online count? |
i thought it didn't :P cos otherwise it's 1 degree haha
most of the TA's probably boil down to max 3 degrees, cos I've met a lot of them randomly:) |
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| dEsidEL |
i've seen connections between TA's, co-workers, elementary school, highschool, uni, and random friends who are all in completely different social circles which further leads me to believe that everyone in TO knows each other somehow..
ps. i've seen a number of my friends on FB join this group too.. the group currently has just over 300,000 members and still has a ways to go before reaching the whole FB "world"..
| quote: |
As of February 2007, the website had the largest number of registered users among college-focused sites with over 18 million members worldwide (also from non-collegiate networks).[1]
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook
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| Cosmic Fur |
| Neat theory, and the only thing I'm wondering is, suppose it is true. Now what? |
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| EvilTree |
| quote: | Originally posted by Cosmic Fur
Neat theory, and the only thing I'm wondering is, suppose it is true. Now what? |
Someone else will come up with another bored theory they've thought up |
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