six degrees of seperation

[njfiricano]

What does the term 'six degrees of seperation' mean?

[Quizmonster]

The idea - based on a play and later film - is that each of us is only six acquaintances away from just about anybody else in the world. That is, I know Fred, Fred knows Jim, Jim knows Alice, Alice knows David, David knows Hilary and Hilary, of course, knows Bill (Clinton). The ex-President and I are, in other words, just six steps away from knowing each other.

[rja211077]

Indeed. and here is a link to a 'debate' which as to whether it is true or not, which i found interesting http://www.newscientist.com/lastword/article.jsp?i
d=lw535

[Allen Crisp]

You can link actor Kevin Bacon to any other actor in no more than six steps based on the films they've appeared in. See http://www.cs.virginia.edu/oracle/