- Think of a celebrity that you admire.
A movie star, a rock star, a sport star, a political star.
Now what if I told you that through a short line
of people, you and that person are actually connected.
Sound a bit crazy?
Well get ready, because today I'm going to tell
you all about the theory that claims just that.
Welcome to Facts in 5, the series that covers the coolest
and most interesting facts on a topic
in five minutes or less.
My name is Matt Santoro and whether it's through
one person or six, you and I are actually connected.
How?
Well for the pilot episode of this new series,
we're discussing a theory that will make
your head spin in amazement.
The Six Degrees of Separation Theory.
What is the theory?
The Six Degrees of Separation theory claims that
every one living person can be connected to any
other living person on this planet through a chain
of acquaintances that is six links or less long.
For example, let's go back to that celebrity
that you thought about.
The idea is that your friend knows a guy who knows a guy
who knows a guy who knows a guy that can connect you
with that person.
So theoretically, within six steps, you're connected
to anyone and everyone.
Oh yeah, that includes that Saudi Arabian Prince.
You know the one that's been emailing you, that has
the 100 million dollars waiting for you in a bank account.
But you gotta send him all your banking and credit card
information, yeah that includes him too.
Just don't get back to him.
Who invented this theory?
In 1929, a Hungarian author named Frigyes Karinthy
published a short story called Chains that claimed
the modern world was shrinking, due to individuals
becoming increasingly connected with each other.
Further works written by authors Michael Gurevich,
Manfred Kochen, and Stanley Milgram built on the belief
that predicted that friendship networks could grow
larger and span greater distances in the future due
to technological advancements in communications and travel.
Hmm, but that kind of sounds like the world
we're living in right now, right?
Well that brings us too...
Where can we see these connections?
Well, everywhere.
Friendship networks growing globally
is exactly what happened.
Think about it, how many friends do you have on Facebook?
Or are in your Google Plus circles?
Hahaha.
No one uses Google Plus.
Now, think about how many of those friends
have even more friends than you do.
In this day and age, the Six Degrees of Separation theory
is easy to believe because it's observable
in our everyday lives.
As communication technology advances, so does our
ability to connect with more and more people.
So, who knows, this theory might even become
the Five Degrees of Separation theory within our lifetime.
When did this theory become popular?
Well, originally when Karinthy published his story in 1929,
it was only a popular idea to researchers and educators.
And it stayed that way for a long time until 1990
when John Guare played the Six Degrees of Separation,
made the theory main stream.
Since then movies, more books, and even games have been
created all based on the friend of a friend concept.
Why does this matter?
This theory, which seems to be about separation, is actually
more about one of the most basic human needs that we all
have, the need to be connected to others.
See, being connected means so much more than
just knowing people who know people.
It means that everything that we do has limitless
ripple effects that impact others lives
down to a virtually endless chain.
So if anyone out there has ever questioned
your own value, think about this.
If you're connected to anyone, even just one person in any
way, well that means that you're connected to everyone.
And thus, everything you do can have
an impact on this world.
So do something good today, because everything
that you do matters.
And that my friends was the Six Degrees of Separation
theory, pretty crazy right?
I want to give a big thanks to my friends, The Fine Bros,
who inspired the topic of today's video.
They have a brand new, fast-paced comedic TV series
called The Six Degrees of Everything that aims to prove
that anything in this world can be
connected in just six degrees.
It's got sketch comedy, original songs, and much more
that takes you down the rabbit hole, uncovering fascinating
facts that connects our world in a
really funny, inventive way.
The series premier is on August 18th at 9:30, 8:30
central time on TruTV, with new episodes coming out
on Tuesdays at the same time.
I am super proud of the work that the guys did on this
series and if you like this video, you're going to love
what they have in store for you.
Thank you my friends for watching the
the pilot episode of Facts in 5.
Another big thanks to The Fine Bros and TruTV'S
The Six Degrees of Everything, both for the inspiration
and for supporting me.
Make sure you click the link in the description
of this video because that will bring you to a teaser
trailer for their new show, which I really think
you're going to enjoy.
And also I've been working on this series for awhile
for you guys, so I would love your feedback.
So please, leave a comment on this video letting
me know what you think, and if you enjoyed it,
be sure to click that like button, because that will
let me know if I should make more of these for you guys.
Stay tuned for the next video and I will see you
guys back here on this channel next time.
Peace!