This post by my friend Billie Brownell* is running simultaneously on the Cool Springs Press website.
Six Degrees of Separation
There is a wonderful play (and, later, a movie of the same title) written by John Guare called Six Degrees of Separation. It was deservedly a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1991. But what does six degrees of separation mean? When I did a little research for this post I learned the concept was first set forth by Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy. His theory is no one is further than six degrees, or steps, from a connection to any other person. On Earth.
At first glance, it seems impossibly abstract—how could a person be connected to everyone on the planet through as few as six people? And yet this description from Wikipedia sheds some light: “Due to technological advances in communications and travel, friendship networks could grow larger and span greater distances. In particular, Karinthy believed that the modern world was ‘shrinking’ due to this ever-increasing connectedness of human beings. He posited that despite great physical distances between the globe’s individuals, the growing density of human networks made the actual social distance far smaller.” I was struck by the phrase friendship networks—what a wonderful thought.
This concept was put to the test when I learned the brother of my nephew’s high school girlfriend was killed in Afghanistan in early May, along with two others from his squad. Me—my nephew—his girlfriend—her brother—his fellow soldiers. Somehow, as tragic as it is to hear the news of distant death, it hits more solidly and profoundly when it’s someone you “know.” Their ages were 24, 22, and 19.
For this Memorial Day, we say “thank you” to all our friends in uniform who give their lives, both figuratively and literally, to defend our freedoms—not least the freedom of the speech you see here. If we are no further than six degrees of separation from anyone else, well, maybe that’s a good thing.
* Used with permission. An editor at Cool Springs Press, Billie can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”