Six Degrees of Separation

"Six Degrees of Separation" is a theory that suggests that any two people in the world can be connected by a chain of no more than six acquaintances. The theory states that if you know one person, you can reach anyone else in the world through a chain of no more than five other people. For example, if you know someone who knows someone else who knows a third person who knows a fourth person who knows a fifth person who knows the person you want to reach, you have a six-degree connection to that person. The theory was popularized by a play and a film of the same name that was based on a 1967 study by social psychologist Stanley Milgram. However, more recent research has suggested that the number of connections may be lower due to the increase of online social networks.