6 degrees of separation hypothesis: Do you believe it?

[Tyro]

This hypothesis basically states that any 2 people on Earth are connected by no more than six levels of acquaintances.

 

[russ_watters]

I said yes, but there is a problem I see and that's isolated tribal people.

 

[zoobyshoe]

My understanding of this hypothe-
sis is that it only pertains to
actors in the film industry. The
premise is that any living film actor can be connected to Foot
loose star Kevin Bacon by no
more than six degrees of separat-
ion. If you widen the parameters
to include everyone in the world
then I don't believe it holds true
any longer.

 

[Sunfist]

Yes, that's the way the original idea was developed. Some people try to extend it to everyone in the world, but I see that as a little rediculous.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I also heard something like, you can pick anyone in the world and they'll be at most your 29th cousin or something.

 

[Hurkyl]

If you widen the parameters
to include everyone in the world
then I don't believe it holds true
any longer.

Remember you have a much larger space of permissible connections though; not just through actors that were in movies together.

 

[Integral]

Originally posted by Sunfist
Yes, that's the way the original idea was developed. Some people try to extend it to everyone in the world, but I see that as a little rediculous.

Actually, the Kevin Bacon thing came around way after I first read about the 7 friend connection. We were playing with this idea in the '70s. Kind'a fun, back then I was only 1 friend from the president of the US. (I Boy Scouted with Pres. Fords photographer, who also was married to a TV star.. that made everything easy.

 

[russ_watters]

Yes, that's the way the original idea was developed. Some people try to extend it to everyone in the world, but I see that as a little rediculous.

I went to high school with Liza Weil, the babysitter in "Stir of Echoes." So that's TWO degrees to Kevin Bacon for me and three for everyone on this board. Think about how simple that is. It doesn't take much at all to connect almost everyone in the world to almost everyone else. The trouble is the few extremely isolated people.

 

[Zero]

Well, I am only 2 degrees from Dubya, so it is probably true for me, at least.

 

[Sunfist]

I'm only zero degrees away from Sunfist. Eat that you bunch of name droppers! I'm zero degrees away from the internet's famous Sunfist. HA!

 

[Zero]

Originally posted by Sunfist
I'm only zero degrees away from Sunfist. Eat that you bunch of name droppers! I'm zero degrees away from the internet's famous Sunfist. HA!

Sun-WHO?!?

 

[Sunfist]

Heh, that was just a joke, dude.

Actually, I do have a website, but I think we aren't suppose to advertise things like that here. Heh, even though there is nothing to buy/donate/etc there. Oh, plus, there is some bad language there sometimes because the other guy who writes stuff there has a potty mouth.

 

[Zero]

What, and I can't joke too??

 

[Sunfist]

NEVER INFIDEL! oh, um. Heh.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Originally posted by russ_watters
I said yes, but there is a problem I see and that's isolated tribal people.

Actually, didn't Kevin Bacon star
in a film where he brought basket-
ball to the Ubangi Tribe?

 

[steppenwolf]

i'm 3 degrees from Saddam Hussein, mm it is a small world

i took part in an online experiment hoping to verify or disporve this theory of 6 degrees of separation, i did my bit but have now lost the website so don't know how it all went.

it was pretty simple, you sign up as a target or finder, i signed up to be a finder, so they gave me the name, profession and city of someone who has signed up to be a target. so when you get it you think 'hmm, do i know someone in the same profession (perhaps they've heard of them through work) or do i have relatives in that city' etc and so you send the target's details to someone who you consider in a better position then you to know the person, and it goes on until someone receives this email and says 'geez, i know Joe Blow' and sends it to them.

i will go and try and find the website, i want to know if my person got found.

god i hate kevin bacon, ever since seeing footloose infact

 

[steppenwolf]

hurrah that was easy, the wonders of google:

http://smallworld.sociology.columbia.edu/

 

[zoobyshoe]

Originally posted by steppenwolf
god i hate kevin bacon, ever since seeing footloose infact

That wasn't his best work, was it?
I really like him because I enj-
oyed the movieTremors so
much. He was also good in Hol-
low Man and Sleepers.
I like actors who can be both
convincingly likable and hateable.