6° (or -14°C) of Separation

In Linked, Barabási discusses the notion of “six degrees of separation”, according to which any two individuals are connected by no more than 4 other individuals. This is a direct result of our modern society; people are more connected, be it by computers or long distance travel, than ever before.

One such connection is the internet; it allows us to instantly communicate with people nowhere near us. This makes six degrees of separation quite feasible. I, through online communities such as deviantART, have friends in Great Britain, Egypt, and Denmark. I've never been there, but in one “step” I have crossed the Atlantic. Five more steps and I should easily be able to connect with anyone in Europe.

When I was in elementary school, there was a student who had immigrated with his family from India. Through him, I have a link to people in a country on the other side of the globe. Long distance travel like this makes the separation between individuals much smaller. Our acquaintance functions much like deviantART; they both make connections between nodes that otherwise would be multiple steps apart.

Works Cited

Barabási, Albert-László. “Linked”. 2002. London, England: Penguin Books, Ltd.