Six degrees of separation and super nodes

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Mathematical Analysis of Social Ties

Those involved in social work and social administration theory know that one way of identifying social isolates is on the basis of their low number and low quality of their social contacts/acquaintances. This is why sometimes it takes 2 years to find out that neighbour Jim Sulkers from Winnipeg has died (as reported in Canadian papers yesterday.)

Furthermore, i find it faulty to assume that any individual's network of 300 or so acquaintances will be mutually exclusive to that of anyone else. Networks, by definition, often overlap. So some individuals will be present in many more networks than others. This means that, in a small society, you would know everyone else or someone who does - two degrees of separation maximum. However, in much larger societies, it would take more than six degrees of separation to establish common knowledge of the same person... although, one needs to define clearly what it means to 'know' someone in this technological age.

Posted by: gbal1   Posted on: 08/29/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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