Six Degrees Of Separation Already Cut To Three? Not Really...

from the read-the-fine-print dept

It was just a couple weeks ago that we pointed to some research coming out of Microsoft suggesting that the somewhat-discredited theory of "six degrees of separation" may be accurate, though those degrees may have changed over time, thanks to increasingly powerful communications technology. Of course, if it's true that communications tech is decreasing our degrees of separation, then it should continue to decrease at a decent pace. But could we have already made the jump down to just three degrees of separation? That's the headline that's going around following a study released by UK mobile operator O2. Except, when you read the fine print, it's not quite accurate. The three degrees of separation are only true within "shared interest networks." So, for example, among folks who are fans of a certain sport, or jazz aficionados or whatever. Basically, the researchers changed the details of the experiment a great deal, narrowing the overall population for each "connection" -- so it should be no surprise that the degrees of separation are a lot smaller.

Filed Under: im, research, six degrees of separation, stanley milgram

Microsoft Researchers Suggest Six Degrees Of Separation May Actually Be Accurate

from the ah,-technology dept

The concept of "Six Degrees of Separation" was originally based on an experiment by Stanley Milgram where he asked people to try to send a letter to someone totally unconnected to them by passing it from person to person among people they knew. The idea was that, on average, any two random people could be connected within six connections. However, more recently, Milgram's study had been somewhat discredited. Yet, a new study, coming from Microsoft researchers suggests that six degrees may be fairly accurate. The researchers looked at data on how people use Microsoft's MSN Instant Messaging software, and discovered that the average chain length to connect any two users on the software was 6.6, and that 78% of all random pairs could be connected in fewer than 7 hops. Of course, what isn't accounted for is whether or not this has changed in the 40 years since Milgram's experiment, during which technology may have made connectivity much easier. Also, thanks to things like instant messaging, people who I might have otherwise completely lost touch with are now "permanently" listed as my friends. That's a bit different than the world in 1967.

Filed Under: im, research, six degrees of separation, stanley milgram
Companies: microsoft