Has anyone else real life experience of this? Briefly, the theory goes that you can connect with anyone in the world with only 6 degrees of separation.

For instance, my wife's cousin came to stay from New Zealand and we got onto the subject of strange names. I mentioned that my sister's husband's brother was called Kimble and was a pilot. The cousin knew him. So, I'm connected to my wife by:

me -> my sister -> her husband -> his brother -> wife's cousin -> wife

This would not sound very odd if everyone was from the same village or even country but this is half way round the world so even if I had never met my wife we would still have the connection.

yes very much so but I cannot seem to get my head round it all to explain it....more caffine methinks

When you live in a place like Sheffield this is so common it's not even noteworthy!

When we had a housewarming party back in my student days it always turned out that my friends knew the friends of my fellow housemates.

One of my oldest friends shared a house with a lass who after uni went to work at the same solicitors as a mate and then ended up dating him!

Happens all the time round these parts.

Originally posted by max
Has anyone else real life experience of this? Briefly, the theory goes that you can connect with anyone in the world with only 6 degrees of seperation.

For instance, my wife's cousin came to stay from New Zealand and we got onto the subject of strange names. I mentioned that my sister's husband's brother was called Kimble and was a pilot. The cousin knew him. So, I'm connected to my wife by:

me -> my sister -> her husband -> his brother -> wife's cousin -> wife

This would not sound very odd if everyone was from the same village or even country but this is half way round the world so even if I had never met my wife we would still have the connection.

But actually, you would be connected to your wife in much less that six degrees, even if you didn't know her. It would be...

You -> Your brother-in-laws brother (if you've met him) -> Your wife's cousin -> Your wife

So only three degrees of seperation, showing how far you can go with this.

Originally posted by Snook
But actually, you would be connected to your wife in much less that six degrees, even if you didn't know her. It would be...

You -> Your brother-in-laws brother (if you've met him) -> Your wife's cousin -> Your wife

So only three degrees of seperation, showing how far you can go with this.

2 degrees, in fact. But in the worst case, where I had met neither my wife nor my brother in law, it would be 4.

Carmine, fair point about Sheffield but neither my wife nor myself went to university here until many years after we met.

I rather thought it was about you knowing everyone on the planet via an organagram of potentially 279936, eg someone you know via 6 others x 6 etc linking every person ?

Originally posted by venger
I rather thought it was about you knowing everyone on the planet via an organagram of potentially 279936, eg someone you know via 6 others x 6 etc linking every person ?

It is, I was just using me and my wife as an example and asking if anyone else had any others.

Originally posted by max
2 degrees, in fact. But in the worst case, where I had met neither my wife nor my brother in law, it would be 4.

Carmine, fair point about Sheffield but neither my wife nor myself went to university here until many years after we met.

Exactly, showing how many more people it would be possible to link. I think that it is possible to link MOST people in the world to you in six degrees, and i would think that we are all linked to each other on this forum in two or three degrees.

There is, of course, a famous play on this subject, which was made into a film with Will Smith. This led to a famous game 'Six Degrees of kevin Bacon' which provides hours of fun!

I was at a conference once where they did an experiment about this. They gave us a list of famous people and we had to see if we could connect ourselves to them through a maximum of 6 people. It really was amazing. Between us we were connected to (among others) Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Michael Owen, and even Saddam Hussein!

Of course you don’t know who all your friends and acquaintences know, and who they know, etc, so you can never fully know who you can be connected to.

Originally posted by Snook
Exactly, showing how many more people it would be possible to link. I think that it is possible to link MOST people in the world to you in six degrees, and i would think that we are all linked to each other on this forum in two or three degrees.

There is, of course, a famous play on this subject, which was made into a film with Will Smith. This led to a famous game 'Six Degrees of kevin Bacon' which provides hours of fun!

See if you are linked to Max who started this thread. :thumbsup:

My brother's friend's sister's flatmate's friend's friend once performed a service of an <ahem> personal nature for Snoop Dogg.

Is that six or seven?

Well I have met Max and know someone else who knows him, does that count ?

The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon version is much more fun.

Here's how it works(from wikipedia.org):

- Pick a film actor, any film actor.
- Link the actor you've chosen to Bacon via the movies they've shared with other actors until you end up with Kevin Bacon himself.

Here is an example, using Elvis Presley:

1) Elvis Presley was in Change of Habit (1969) with Edward Asner
2) Edward Asner was in JFK (1991) with Kevin Bacon

Therefore Elvis Presley has a Bacon number of 2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Degrees_of_Kevin_Bacon

Originally posted by serapis
The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon version is much more fun.

Here's how it works(from wikipedia.org):

- Pick a film actor, any film actor.
- Link the actor you've chosen to Bacon via the movies they've shared with other actors until you end up with Kevin Bacon himself.

Here is an example, using Elvis Presley:

1) Elvis Presley was in Change of Habit (1969) with Edward Asner
2) Edward Asner was in JFK (1991) with Kevin Bacon

Therefore Elvis Presley has a Bacon number of 2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Degrees_of_Kevin_Bacon

Hmm. Fancy starting a '6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon' thread in I'm Really Bored? I've done a search and it doesn't seem to have been done before...

Probably best, rather than going back to Bacon all the time, to get whoever gets each one to nominate an actor, and then you have to get to that actor from wherever you started. So, you could start with Kevvy B to Elvis, then Elvis to Madonna, Madonna to James Stewart or whatever...

Actually more bizarre is that I can link through my family tree just about everyone I call a friend. Now that is scary. Sometimes the relationship is far far removed but generally .... scary

Dragon

Originally posted by Carmine
When you live in a place like Sheffield this is so common it's not even noteworthy!

When we had a housewarming party back in my student days it always turned out that my friends knew the friends of my fellow housemates.

One of my oldest friends shared a house with a lass who after uni went to work at the same solicitors as a mate and then ended up dating him!

Happens all the time round these parts.

Sheffield is mad for this kind of thing. So many people I know are connected randomly to others it is untrue.

These folks are not all from Sheffield. Sometimes the branches go all the way to scotland and back and rejoin. I was surprised to find myself related to this lass I had thought of as a friend and nothing more - she only a toddler - but that meant that somehow me and her mum or dad were related and neither of them was aware of the link either.

Like a big family reunion.

Dragon

Originally posted by Dragon
Actually more bizarre is that I can link through my family tree just about everyone I call a friend. Now that is scary. Sometimes the relationship is far far removed but generally .... scary

Dragon

You're not from Norfolk are you?

Originally posted by robbie
Sheffield is mad for this kind of thing. So many people I know are connected randomly to others it is untrue.

Yes same in my experience, and others I know have often remarked on this.......

Nope - not from Norfolk. My family lines are all Sheffield and to the north. By-'eck I have folks all over the place I never knew about. Getting so a bloke can't turn around without bumping into someone he is related to. Must forget em all real quick or I will need thousands of christmas cards ...

What were we talking about?

Dragon

Originally posted by RodimusPrime
Hmm. Fancy starting a '6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon' thread in I'm Really Bored? I've done a search and it doesn't seem to have been done before...

Probably best, rather than going back to Bacon all the time, to get whoever gets each one to nominate an actor, and then you have to get to that actor from wherever you started. So, you could start with Kevvy B to Elvis, then Elvis to Madonna, Madonna to James Stewart or whatever...

Be my guest mate!

One of my best mates shared a flat with one of the supporting actors in Snatch starring Brad Pitt.

Brad Pitt starred in Sleepers with Kevn Bacon.

So I can do Kevin Bacon in 4 that I can confirm.

It's not hard though is it.

My housemate was taught to play the spoons by The Rock's cousin, who is also The Rock's stuntman. This is true.

He was in the excellent Welcome to the Jungle with Christopher Walken.

Walken was in Kangaroo Jack with Michael Shannon.

Michael Shannon was in The Woodsman with Kevin Bacon.

Bacon number of 5.

Originally posted by serapis
Be my guest mate!

Sorry, can't be bothered!

You think Sheffield is bad, you should try living in Devon and Cornwall; where I was dragged up. There everyone is related to each other.

local villager - Can I introduce you to my mother, sister, auntie, neighbour, local police women, mp and wife.

me - But there is only one women stood there!

local villager - I know.

there is a theory tht you can get hold of anyone in the world thru just six people. e.g ur friend knows a man who knows a man blah blah blah just to see if it works i will use my name. scott whitham. see if you can tell me who i am. look forward to seeing the results:clap:

I think its a load of balls personally, but thats just my opinion.

It has been proven to a degree.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_separation

Nope, I still think there are people in the world who cant be linked up within 6 steps.

Originally posted by spyro2000
Nope, I still think there are people in the world who cant be linked up within 6 steps.

Of course, it's unlikely that this will work for a member of the lost tribe of the Kalahari, but for most people this 'six degrees of separation' thing does seem to work pretty well. Perhaps surprisingly, perhaps not - it's been proved to me many times over the years that the world is in reality a very small place.

StarSparkle

Originally posted by StarSparkle
Of course, it's unlikely that this will work for a member of the lost tribe of the Kalahari, but for most people this 'six degrees of separation' thing does seem to work pretty well. Perhaps surprisingly, perhaps not - it's been proved to me many times over the years that the world is in reality a very small place.

StarSparkle

There you go then, its not EVERYONE is it :D

Originally posted by spyro2000
There you go then, its not EVERYONE is it :D

Unless you're a total pedant (or a member of the lost tribe of the Kalahari), then it might as well be everyone! ;)

StarSparkle