We are so connected this way
24
May
The so-called “small world” phenomenon, worked on and addressed in Social Network Analysis (not to be
confused with social media) is the idea that everyone can be connected through only six degrees of separation, and this has inspired not only scientists , but also artists, journalists, business people and the general public since the idea emerged in a 1990 John Guare play.
Despite recent appearances of this concept in the media, illustrating the widespread belief in universal connectivity, there is also controversy over the same claim, and Barabási’s non-scale model is one of them, though his book Linked: the New Science of networks (2009) is the best reading of the topic.
Two examples cited are “Xing,” a network of potential subscribers referring to the idea of ”six degrees of separation,” and the attempt by the American television network ABC to conduct its own version of an experiment to test the same idea , through a “six degree” charity initiative using the concept on their website in an attempt to collect donations to a network of various charities.
Although Milgram’s experiment has already dealt with the subject, a manuscript by Pool and Kochen (Contacts and influence Social Networks, 1 (1978)) circulating around 1958 would have been the first version of the idea, but it was only published 20 years later, then not everyone gives credit.
The important thing about Pool and Kochen’s work is that they tried to give a mathematical structure to their “contact networks” following the path of other theorist as the mathematician. Rapoport (Spread of information through a population with socio-structural bias: I. Assumption of transitivity, 1953).
One prank to take this test is to use “Bancon’s Oracle” (by Kevin Bacon) on oracleofbacon.org and get the connection of Pope Francisco with Toshirô Mifune, for co-performances in films, the pope has already participated in two movies (see above)
