The term “six degrees of separation” is based on the idea that any two people on Earth are, on average, only six social connections apart.
Its origins trace back to 1929, when Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy proposed the concept in his short story "Chains”. Karinthy speculated that advancements in communication and travel had shrunk the “distance” between people, making it possible to connect any two individuals through a small chain of intermediaries. This idea found further support in network theory, which studies patterns and connections in large-scale social networks.
In 1967, American social psychologist Stanley Milgram tested the theory with his "Small World Experiment”. Participants were tasked with delivering a letter to a stranger using a chain of acquaintances. On average, it took just five to six intermediaries to reach the intended recipient, solidifying the notion of a "small-world phenomenon”.
The term underscores the interconnectedness of humanity and suggests that everyone is more closely linked than they might assume.
It should be noted at this point that detractors argue that Milgram's experiment did not demonstrate such a link, and the "six degrees" claim has been decried by some as an "academic urban myth". [Ed: aka Party Poopers]
The concept gained cultural prominence through John Guare's 1990 play "Six Degrees of Separation”, later adapted into a 1993 film, starring Will Smith, then a relative newcomer to our collective celebrity consciousness.
In the play, a young black man named Paul shows up at the home of art dealer Flan Kittredge and his wife Louisa, known simply as "Ouisa", who live overlooking Central Park in New York City. Towards the end of the play, in a climactic moment of reflection, Ouisa delivers the play's most famous monologue:
“I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation. Between us and everybody else on this planet. The president of the United States. A gondolier in Venice. Fill in the names. I find that A) tremendously comforting that we're so close and B) like Chinese water torture that we're so close. Because you have to find the right six people to make the connection. It's not just big names. It's anyone. A native in a rain forest. A Tierra del Fuegan. An Eskimo. I am bound to everyone on this planet by a trail of six people. It's a profound thought.”
It also inspired the fun game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”, which applies the idea to Hollywood, suggesting any actor can be connected to Kevin Bacon in six films or fewer. The game was created by three students at Albright College in Pennsylvania, who came up with the idea while watching Footloose. On 13 September 2012, Google made it possible to search for any given actor's "Bacon Number" through its search engine. Also, a website called “The Oracle of Bacon” includes a bunch of interactive tools and lists all the people who found actors and actresses with Bacon numbers of 7 or higher. That’s impressive.
Story Idea: Rachael Barham Snowden
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References
wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_separation
oracleofbacon.org
Images
1. Image credit: Adobe Stock Photos
2. 1930 photo of Frigyes Karinthy (1887–1938)
3. Six Degrees of Separation play poster by James McMullan
4. Six Degrees of Separation DVD box cover, 1993
5. Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Credit: oracleofbacon.org
