10/18/2004 Add a comment

That famous saying about how we're all six degrees of separation apart? Turns out that in 1973, at least, we were twice as close to each other. The Handbook of Communication, published in 1973, included an article by Ithiel de Sola Pool arguing that the entire American populace could connect to anyone else with an average of fewer than three intervening steps. So how did we somehow leap from three degrees to six? Did the population get that much bigger, or did we just butcher this idea in its transition into popular culture? Can I just figure this out instead of writing my 1970s retro urban development paper? Most of all, does this mean that I'm really only three steps away from Zach "so dreamy" Braff?
Anonymous

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  1. Blogger William: A recent issue of US Weekly (Hey, stop looking at me like that!) linked him with Mandy Moore. She's, like, 14 or something. 10/19/2004