The theory of six handshakes says that we all know each other after a maximum of five people. Sometimes we don’t even mean how many friends we have and that only five of them separate us from meeting any person.
The world first learned about the theory of six handshakes in the 30s of the last century. It was described in detail in Fridays Carinti’s science fiction short story “Chain Links.” The plot was based on an experiment that proved that all the inhabitants of the planet know each other after a maximum of 5 people. This phenomenon became interesting to sociologists, and in 1969 the theory was finally formed. To confirm the hypothesis, American sociologists Jeffrey Travers and Stanley Milgram handed out 300 envelopes to residents of a small town. The goal was simple: using only your own contacts to deliver a letter to the addressee. 60 letters reached the desired address, and the length of the path of each letter did not exceed 5 people. The essence of the experiment was as follows: if the subject did not know the addressee, then it was required to send a letter to a person who was most likely familiar with him. Perhaps the organizers did not take into account the costs of stamps, so out of 300 letters only 60 reached.
Later, the experiment was repeated, but using modern means of communication. In total, 20 secret addresses were created, and volunteers were asked to find these people. Surprisingly, the first resident of Australia, who found the desired address through only four friends. And this address was not on a neighboring street, or even in a neighboring city, but in Siberia!
Microsoft approached experiment on a grand scale
Microsoft used all the necessary resources, spent 2 years, during which experts analyzed nearly 250 million messages and identified the relationship. Yes, and again everything came together - any user of the service could find another through 6.6 people on average.
But, even knowing about this theory, we are still surprised when we find common acquaintances even where, it would seem, this is impossible.
Social Media Experiment
With the advent of the era of social networks, the experiment was repeated in them. Probably each of us noticed that when we accept an invitation to friends from a stranger, we see one or two mutual friends. Surprisingly, these people connected you for a long time in real or in virtual life and in fact you were familiar long before the moment you began to communicate in social networks. Facebook, being today the widest social network popular all over the world, conducted its research together with the University of Milan. And their verdict: the number of links in the human chain is only 4.4. Of course, there is an error, since the coverage of Facebook registration is not 100%.
Arguments for refuting a hypothesis
There are always those who support and those who doubt. Not everyone is ready to accept the theory of six handshakes as an axiom. And the main argument in favor of the refutation was that the chain was interrupted, and not every letter found the addressee. Here it is necessary to take into account the human factor: someone did not want to take part, someone forgot or for other reasons refused to take the baton.
As for social networks, they are right in some respects: yes, we don’t know all our friends personally, but the Internet allows people to get closer to each other, make virtual acquaintances and communicate without restrictions. After all, you are still familiar, albeit in absentia. There are no other, more weighty arguments in favor of a refutation of the theory.
The game "VKontakte" as a way to test the theory
You do not even need to install additional applications, just type in any name and surname in the search. From the list that the social network will give out, choose a person from another city and start playing. Go to his friend list, then go to the page of the first friend in the list and repeat the action. The social network ranks friends by rating, substituting the most likely acquaintances upstairs. On average, the chain will consist of 3-5 people. Thus, even skeptics can test the theory without leaving home and without even getting up from the desktop. Instruction:
- Select the “victim” (it must be real).
- Go to her page.
- Go to the page of her first friend on the list.
Theory doesn't always work
Even today, there are closed groups that live apart and try to minimize contacts with the outside world. In addition, in some countries the caste system is still used, which has very tight borders. And even the Internet cannot shorten this chain between people. In fact, the world of a particular person is determined by his life features: habits, place of study and work, favorite places to relax and it is in this layer to find friends through 6 handshakes.
What prevents to confirm or refute the rule:
- the use of different communication methods, messengers and social networks;
- the presence of "closed" groups of people on the planet;
- the inability to conduct an experiment involving all the inhabitants of the Earth.
It must be taken for granted that our world is not monolithic and homogeneous and consists of many layers, in each of which people live by their own rules. Of course, with the advent of technology, people became closer to each other, but for a complete confirmation or refutation of the theory, 100% participation of all the inhabitants of the planet is needed. And this is not possible.
