Researchers from Bar-Ilan University prove there are just six degrees of separation in a social network. Do you know someone who knows someone? We've all delved into this thought experiment, marveling at the idea that in the vast web of humanity, random people can be linked through very small chain
Researchers have mathematically explained the “six degrees of separation” phenomenon, indicating that individuals in a network aim for strategic connections, balancing costs and benefits of these ties. The original experiment by Stanley Milgram in 1967 showed that in the vast American society, it took only around six connections to link two random people, a finding that has since been reaffirmed through various studies.
Of course, the chances of such a direct acquaintance across such a vast social and geographical distance – from Boston to Omaha — were extremely slim, and therefore, the letter further requested that if the recipient didn’t know the intended addressee, they should forward the letter to someone who might.
Hence, social networks of vastly different scales and contexts tend to feature extremely short pathways. And most importantly, they seem to universally favor the, by collaborators from Israel, Spain, Italy, Russia, Slovenia, and Chile, shows that simple human behavior — weighing the costs and benefits of social ties — may uncover the roots of this intriguing phenomenon.
As a result, the research shows, social networks, whether on or offline, are a dynamic beehive of individuals constantly playing the cost-benefit game, severing connections on the one hand, and establishing new ones on the other. It’s a constant buzz driven by the ambition for social centrality.
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