We’re Closer Than You Think – “Less Than” Six Degrees Of Separation
Have you ever been away on holidays, only to meet someone there who is from your neighborhood? Did you think this was an unnatural coincidence? Think again.
In his book, Max Gunther noted the work of Harvard funded psychologist Dr Stanley Milgram. Milgram created an experient designed to test just how intertwined we as human beings were.
He selected one “target” lady at random, and then a distant group of completely random people. Sending a letter to each of the far-spread random group of people, Milgram advised the rules:
“If you know this lady on a first name basis, please give the letter to her directly. If you do not, pass it on to someone you DO know on a first name basis and who, in your opinion, might know her.”
How many times do you think these people had to pass the letter on for it to reach its intended target? 100 times? 200? More?
Incredibly, the letter reached the target woman in only 3 passes. The longest chain of passes was 10, and the average was 5. Suddenly, people don’t seem so distant after all…
Have you ever been away on holidays, only to meet someone there who is from your neighborhood? Did you think this was an unnatural coincidence? Think again.
In his book, Max Gunther noted the work of Harvard funded psychologist Dr Stanley Milgram. Milgram created an experient designed to test just how intertwined we as human beings were.
He selected one “target” lady at random, and then a distant group of completely random people. Sending a letter to each of the far-spread random group of people, Milgram advised the rules:
“If you know this lady on a first name basis, please give the letter to her directly. If you do not, pass it on to someone you DO know on a first name basis and who, in your opinion, might know her.”
How many times do you think these people had to pass the letter on for it to reach its intended target? 100 times? 200? More?
Incredibly, the letter reached the target woman in only 3 passes. The longest chain of passes was 10, and the average was 5. Suddenly, people don’t seem so distant after all…