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Well that's nub of the question -- I was wondering if anyone know what 
study this referred to, and what the methodology was! I have the 
horrible feeling that the meme they're suggesting here will be picked up 
unquestioningly by other media outlets and become a much-quoted factoid 
without any real substance to it!

- Darrell



Valdis Krebs wrote:
> It all depends what they are using as a definition of a "tie".  You put 
> the bar low enough and we can beat the  average of 4.6 steps easily.  
> For instance, how is everyone tied in this group -- SOCNET?  Darrell, am 
> I now "connected" to you, because I responded directly to your post -- 
> even though by most definitions we are strangers?  We can probably come 
> up with several, contrasting, definitions of what is a tie here, and 
> therefore who is connected[directly and indirectly], and what the 
> average distance is.  Oh... is that a simple average or a weighted average?
> 
> Remember the old joke about looking for an accountant, and you ask each 
> candidate:  "What does 1 + 1 equal?"  And supposedly the "ideal" 
> candidate responds with: "What would you like it to be?"
> 
> Valdis
> 
> 
> On Jan 21, 2006, at 4:50 AM, Darrell Berry wrote:
> 
>> Wondering if any of you socnetters has a view on, or references for 
>> the Economist's claim (January 21st 2006, A Survey of the Company, 
>> p.2) that 'according to more recent work along the same lines [as 
>> Milgram's 6-degrees study], that number has now fallen to 4.6' due 
>> mostly, they infer, to organisationally- and electronically-mediated 
>> networking?
> 
> 

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