My Personal Experiences of Six Degrees of Separation
It's a small world, after all.
"I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation between us and everyone else on this planet. The President of the United States, a gondolier in Venice, just fill in the names. I find it extremely comforting that we're so close." - John Guares, Six Degrees of Separation: A Play
Are you familiar with the concept of six degrees of separation (or Kevin Bacon)? That all people (or actors) are six or fewer social connections (or movies) away from each other (or Kevin Bacon)? It's a very intriguing theory (and a fun game to play on movie message boards). Perhaps you've even experienced such social connections yourself? I have on several occasions, so I thought it would be fun to share some of mine:
A cousin on my father's side of the family, and her then-future husband, were university friends with my maternal uncle. This connection occurred before my parents met each other at a different university in another province.
A couple of family friends are mutual friends with the brother of one of my father's elementary school friends. We discovered this connection via social media.
Another family friend worked with the father and brothers of one of my elementary school friends. We learned of this connection while chatting with our family friend and his wife over dinner.
An elementary school friend of mine lived directly across the street from a high school friend of mine. While the two attended different elementary and middle schools and never met nor knew each other, they both share a mutual friend with me from the same high school we all attended.
Furthermore, these three school friends are all mutual friends with a fellow I never met nor knew. This gentleman attended different schools from myself but is also mutual friends with many of my elementary school friends. Again, I discovered these connections via social media.
An additional connection exists between my high school friend and his fiancee, as she's a distant cousin on my father's side of the family. We suspected this was the case based on her surname and the fact that she's from the same community and province as other cousins who share the same surname. We confirmed this connection with a bit of back-and-forth conversation between parties. So, whenever the lovely couple ties the knot, my high school friend will become my distant cousin-in-law.
A childhood friend of mine, daughter of old family friends we hadn't seen in decades, resides in the same small town we moved to from Toronto. We've kept in touch with the family via social media over the years, and received a visit from her mother, stepfather, and their adorable dog last year. They were in town to visit her and told us that she moved here with her family a few years after us, as her husband is from the region. Who knows? We may have even passed my childhood friend in a grocery store or on the streets multiple times and never even realized it.
So, as you can see from my above examples, six degrees of separation is indeed the real deal, and not just a fun parlour game (involving Kevin Bacon). Pretty cool, huh? How about yourself? Can you think of any similar surprising social connections you've witnessed? If so, please share them, as I'd love to hear your experiences with six degrees of separation! Until next time, love, peace, and chicken grease!