Report: Only 6 steps needed to link every one in the world

According to the researchers, the year 2006 saw addresses of 30 billion instant messages sent among 180 million people worldwide. It’s from this revelation that the researchers reached their conclusion.

They established that, on average, any two people are linked by less than seven connections.

There has always been talk of the “six degrees of separation” which argues that less that 7 acquaintances are needed to link everyone in the world.

Even though the story led to the production of a movie in 1993, the view has largely been discredited amongst various people.
Eric Horvitz, one of the Microsoft researchers on the project was reportedly shocked on their research findings and said the study suggests there may be a social connectivity constant for humanity.
Researchers say that they used a database that covered the entire Microsoft Messenger instant-messaging network which may represent almost half of the world's instant-messaging traffic as of June 2006. Mr. Horvitz and his colleagues said they worked on the basis that two people were considered to be acquaintances if they had exchanged an instant message.

According to the study, researchers initially analyzed a minimum chain of lengths essential to connect all the users in the database. The findings showed that only 6.6%, with 78% of the pairs connected in seven or less links.

After analyzing the minimum chain lengths required to connect all the users in the database, they found the average length was 6.6, with 78% of the pairs connected in seven or fewer links.

Coined by Stanley Mailgram, an academic social psychologist in the U.S., the initiative of six degrees of separation was meant to have the letter reach a named person they did not know living in another city by letting people pass a letter only to others they knew by name.

Stanley found out that on average, the letter was passed on to approximately six people and thus coined his theory of “six degrees of separation.”

Horvitz and his associates have no doubt confirmed Milgram's theory on a global scale.

Source RedOrbit