Episode Transcript
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📍 Welcome back to sort of sophisticated, the podcast that helps you sound smarter than your next door neighbor and less they're listening to, in which case, it's now the Hunger Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor.
It's Amanda and we're switching it up today. And I will dutifully be the first tribute to try and school my brainiac in chief, co-host Pete. I don't even know what's going on right now.
This is outta control. There's so much wrong with this. I had a movie reference. Right, right. I'm so proud of you. I'm taking over.
Right. And I just, I'm in full meltdown mode right now. Is your brain melting? We are, yes. This episode is officially off the rails. You know what this would be called? If we were in Seinfeld? This would be the bizarro episode. Okay. That's what this is already. Here we are. Or Twilight Zone. Here we, oh my God.
Can um, can I know what was up like, can I know like what prompted you to do this whole thing or where this whole came from?
Like this is sort of freaking me out a little bit. I gotta know. Whoa, I need some background. You know what was happening in your brain? I was at a wedding last weekend, and I met a guy who knows guy who dated, a girl who went to high school with a girl named Zendaya. Do you know who that is? Wait. First of all. Yes, but that was so many guys. And who knew? A guy. One guy? No, no, no, no, no. And Zendaya? No. No. Like Zendaya. Zendaya, yes. And for the record, it was only three people away. Three people away. Yeah. I met a guy.
Mm-hmm. Who knows? A guy, yeah. Who dated a girl Uhhuh. Who went, who went to school? I guess four people away. Oh my God. Okay. I love this idea, but actually that's not real at all. I'm totally bullshitting you. Wait, so then how did all, did you, you really just made all that up? I did. So, but realistically how it actually happened Okay.
Was, you know the wedding that we went to in Australia? Yes. Um, so the couple, mm-hmm. One of their guests was another couple that we met. Okay. And we've heard a lot about them. They live, you know, in Orange County as well. Okay. And so it was nice to meet them, obviously in a different country that we only live.
15 miles away. Right. fast forward to last weekend. Prepare to fast forward. Fast forwarding. I was at the House of Blues. Yeah. I invited a friend. She invited a friend. That friend is best invited. Invited me is best friends with Zendaya. No, nothing to do with Zendaya. I was at all remember Bullshitting.
Ghosting, sorry. Focus, focus, focus. Whoa, whoa. Wait, wait. Now I wanna know who the 11 seven liar is. Go ahead, continue. Who's friends with big Reveal? Who's best friends with Big Reveal? The couple who was the guest that we met in Australia and all it was was, you know, when you're talking with people and you figure out like your seventh degree of separation.
Mm-hmm. And except six degrees of separation, you mean? Yes. Yes. I know. But in that moment called it, you thought it the seven. I called it seven. I'm like, oh, we're seven degrees of separation. No, it's seven deadly sins. Yeah. Whatever. So it's a seven Wonders of the world. We'll, we don't know my idioms. So here we are, seven days of the week.
Yeah, here we are. It should be a seven, but it's not. It's a six. Scientifically proven anyways. Oh wow. We'll get there. We'll get there. There's that. So, okay. It was just this aha moment of. Like, I have nothing in common with my friend's friend except my friend. Right. Wow. But there's so many things happening right now.
They have, you know, a connection Yeah. With the people that we met in Australia. Okay. Anyways, but it got me to think about like, how close are we really to anybody? Right? Like, are we just one awkward brunch away from knowing someone who knows someone who knows someone? Like how far away are we? But not really because we, we already met in person.
No, but I mean like, is there another way that we're six degrees separated? That's what I'm asking. Oh, I mean like your brother knows your sister's mother's friend who then knew my sister's mom's cousin. No, but we do have one and we don't like her, so we don't talk about her. Got it. Okay. Yeah, yeah. There's that.
Okay. Wow. But anyways, the whole episode basically is just about human connection. so what the hell are we? What? Gimme the, can I have the title? Can I? Yes. I even made advance title. Can I official? I want the official title please. 'cause I'm already so confused. 'cause you lied to me twice.
You threw in a movie reference. I have no fucking idea what's going on. Gimme the name of this down. Here we go. What are we talking about? Ready? Six degrees of separation. While you're closer than you think. Okay. I like, I can get into this, but it has psychology, math, um, and the history behind those are my, this concept, but those are my three favorite things.
I know. Psychology, math, and history. Correct. I have, we a boner. I am ready to go. God, stop it. Can we, like, this is like conspiracy theories. Meet sociology. Absolutely. Like sociology with receipts. Mind you. Yes. Okay. Wow. So we're gonna talk about how this theory started.
Like paper receipts? Yeah, like paper receipts, like back in the OG days, like Yes. Okay. Yeah. Your history's been golden in there. All right. What are we talking about? Gimme, gimme the download. Gimme the agenda today, please. Okay. So the theory on how it started, of course. Why it actually works.
Okay. And how it's actually using everything from marketing to counter-terrorism. Get ready to To counter terrorism. Yeah. Not just terrorism. We're counter using Counter. You're countering T. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Okay. But you gotta tell me how it's gonna make me cultured first. 'cause I don't know if I'm buying any of this shit.
Oh, okay. Other than me somehow being related to Zendaya, it makes you so cultured. Well then how? Because how. You have to understand how networks work wrong. What wrong? Why? I don't believe you. I'm just gonna say wrong through this whole episode, just to throw you off and get you upset. Okay? Here we go then.
Okay, what? What do I have to understand? I'm now gonna bypass and ignore you like you do me. So if you understand how networks work, you will understand how influence then spread. This is excellent. Which then goes to how ideas go viral and then how power moves. So it's all about culture. Oh shit.
Politics, marketing. You're getting serious. Okay. It's like the cheat code to understanding the modern world. Six degrees of separation is a cheat code. I guess that's it. There's so much here that I don't know, there's so much, but it's exciting. Feel, so it's exciting. Unsophisticated. And I'm gonna get you to this sorta of fine.
Here we go. Can we, uh, can we do word of the day, please? Yes. So we can start this damn thing already? Yeah, I do. I'm assuming, I'm assuming you have word of the day. I do. I have two ready? I have two. Wait, why? Because oh, one you're gonna lie to me about No, no, no. As I was researching all of this, I actually learned a new word, uhhuh, and it's propinquity. Propinquity Propinquity. Wow. No. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Everybody knows what Propinquity is.
Do you actually, yeah. Duh. What does it mean? Right? It's so nerdy. Yeah. What is it? I have no idea what it means. I was like, damn it. Okay. But it's like I was pretending, oh, it is a very nerdy word. Okay. What does it mean? Um, . It takes the physical or the psychological proximity. So how close you are to someone in a space or in a vibe. And then it's like how the connections form. Because the closer you are, the more likely you are actually to connect.
No, but that's bullshit. That's because then it's like within proximity. Right? But that's 'cause this episode, so you just threw in the word that is about this episode. Physical or psychological proximity. Yeah. Yeah. You can't do that. That makes, that makes it too easy. I know that. That's why I have two. I was just excited for this new word because, okay, fine.
I like. So wait, so am I using Propinquity or am I gonna use the second word? No, no, no. You just gonna remember Propinquity because that's gonna be brought up later. Right. But it's Oh, okay. It's basically, we're laying the foundation. Right. It's just like chemistry. Yeah. And proximity together. Yeah. It's like the likelihood that you're gonna make a connection.
I'm with you, so, okay. Okay. I'm with you completely, everything's okay. Everything great. So before you do the second order of the day Yes. Which mind, you're already 10 minutes into this fricking episode and we haven't even got there yet. I think we should do a poll and figure out if our listeners enjoy the chaos of this episode over the other, uh, more, let's say well structured, uh, 74 episodes.
I would argue they're gonna love this episode, 76 episodes that we've had. I'm just throwing it out there. Okay. Gimme the second word of the day, please. And I also think that everyone's gonna realize how well I play, along with your crazy uhhuh, but it's fine. Um, Uhhuh. Okay. Okay. Ready?
Sure. C clants.
C Clants. C Clants. Clants. Like, yes. It seemed fitting for your child like mine, so I went with it. Well, that sounds terrible. That sounds like you're, farting while holding a purse. Clants or clutch? Clutch. Not CLU. Not like clutch fine. Clout. Clout. Cloudant. Clout. It still sounds like you're farting.
It's like flatulence. Okay. Maybe, yeah, it is. It is kind of like that. It's an excessive guesty release of clout. Clout of clout. Yeah. Like, like when someone name drops three celebrities in one sentence like that. Oh my, my God. Is this a real word? I think so. This is bullshit. All right. What do I have to prop Propinquity?
No, no, no. That's a real, that's a real word. Cl we to know. Um, yes. And clants. All right, got it. . Alright. I could, I could do this. I'll be able to get this one in. Okay, here we go. I'll get it in somewhere. And if I fart during this episode, does that count? Because that's as long as you, is that cloudant as you like, brag about it.
It was okay. It was excessive gas release. Okay, fine. We go. Um, um, this is, this is so excellent. I can't even wait to get going. Oh, you're so bloated with all your flatulence already. Let, let's go. Let's, let's just like get going with six degrees of separation here. But wasn't there a movie on six degrees of separation?
I swear to God there was. I don't know who started it. I'd have to look that up. I don't remember. I never watched anything. I think there was, but that's coming. That's in like your, your call to action. Okay. It is. I got this, I got this. Oh, okay. Fine. Can you just like launch history and go back in time to somehow throw Playdoh, Aristotle, or Socrates into this sucker. Let's go. Well, I didn't go that far back. Well, how far back did you go? I went to 1929. Oh, that's a hundred years I'm in. And like you mentioned, that's good. Like interconnectedness isn't new.
Okay. And so we all know, you know how everything's connected back to Plato. So we're just gonna fast forward a little bit to 9 29. All right. We're here where Hungarian author
reh ti, wrote a short story called Chains, and he proposed that any two people could be connected through five intermediaries. This is like the first literary mention of what we now call the six degrees of separation.
That's already bullshit. That two, two and five. That's seven. I don't know. You said math was involved and we're already off. Okay. Hold on. On, that's how it starts. Okay, hold on a second. So wait a second. Was this a fiction book or a nonfiction book? This was made up shit. It was absolutely made up, but it caught on.
Right. So then like in the 1950s, mathematicians started modeling small world networks and like there's air quotes around that. Right. What small world net? What is this? Okay, go ahead. So they came from Stanley Milgram's experiment, which happened in the sixties, and it was called The Small World Problem.
Okay. Wait, is Stanley Milgram like a psychologist or a scientist or something? Yes, he's something important. Yes. Yes. I'm assuming, yes. This is where the, that part comes in. Okay, fine. Go ahead. So he but Old Stanley Milgram, he wanted to test how many steps it took to get a letter from Nebraska to Boston using only personal contacts.
many Wait, how many what? Say that again. He wanted to test how many steps it took to get a letter. Okay. Not physical steps? No, no, no, no. Mean like. Like by personal context. Okay. So like, I knew somebody who was in, um, Tennessee, and then that person in Tennessee knew somebody who was in, you know, West Virginia.
And this eventually was fascinating. The good old Stanley Milgram. Somehow it was, yes. Yes. Because it's all about our small world problem. Right. Okay. Like how I'm listening. Okay. So at average, six. And why'd they pick Nebraska? That's the middle of no. Oh. Is that related to Bruce Springsteen? Six degrees of separation.
Oh, we go, let's go. I have an idea. Look at that. All of our podcasts are related somehow. They're, well, we did say that. Holy shit. We, we say it all the time that everything is related, right? This is amazing. Okay, continue. Alright. You got, kinda got, you're getting me hooked here. I'm getting excited. So this whole six, that's kind of where the name Six Degrees of Separation kind of came from.
But the twist is, is this why the average male penis is six inches long? I have no idea. I think that's just easy math, half a flip. Anyway, I just had to throw sex in there. Yeah, you did. Okay, go ahead. Uh, okay. So Milgram's experiment. Yeah, it would just obviously wasn't perfect. I mean, you already pointed out a dozen reasons why, um, but most of the letters never made it.
But the ones that did actually make it were six steps. Really. And that's, and that's, was enough to spark decades of research going forward. So Wow. So like what, what, what about all the ones that didn't make it?
He like, well, you just kind of throw them out as like, they don't count towards those Never made it screw those, those took 1000, uh, degrees of separation to get theirs. But, but we'll ignore all those, the ones that were successful. Yeah. Okay. Thanks. Wow. And so then somebody's like, gets excited and says, okay, we're gonna start researching.
Yes. Okay. This is fascinating. So we're gonna take a, a little detour from research. Okay. We're gonna go a little pop, but research. You understand research is my favorite part. I know, but it's a little pop culture, which is also a pop culture. Not my favorite part. It is, it is. Just wait, just wait. No, that's your favorite part.
Wait, this is getting to like, this is why you're on the show. This is, this is why though. It's getting to your like, okay, fine. Um, movies and all that thing came here. Alright. Alright. Go. So to get to your movie side of things that you really like, right?
Yeah. The theory gets a whole weird kind of second life in the nineties and it's thanks to Kevin Bacon. Wait, hold on a second. So from the sixties to the nineties, we're just, we're sideways, we're not doing shit. Nothing really happened too much, right? Like I think it's got traction, you know, how you sum about for people.
I'm summing for real, real quick. I'm gonna let you keep going, but I. 1929, a book comes out. Yes. Which is fiction. Mind you. Yes. And some dude's like, Hey, two and five, and everybody's connected and some bullshit. It's, uh, 19 60, 30 years later, some guy named Milgram's, like, I'm gonna test this shit out with some letters and some envelopes from like Nebraska to New York.
Mind you, half of them don't even make it. But that's cool because there's some math behind it. Took six to get there with a lot of the ones that did make it. And then it, another 30 years goes by. We're in the fucking ice ages somehow. And then in 1990 we start getting serious about this. Yeah. Yeah. This is how far you've gotten with history.
Yeah. Yeah. So this is Kevin Bacon. This, this is what Michael, it goes to Kevin Bacon. Okay, fine. Let's go. Kev. You love Kevin Bacon. I'm interested. Yo foot loose. Okay, let's go. So some college kids were watching movies and they realized that Kevin Bacon had worked with basically everyone in Hollywood. Okay.
So then they made up a game, okay, pick any actor and try to connect them to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less. And they use the six steps because of Milgram. Yes. Like they remember this like Yeah. Like it was already a thing. Right. Okay. Like it started this whole thing. Okay. Okay, so the game kind of goes like Tom Hanks was in Apollo 13, who was, you know, with Gary Sinise, who was then in the big bounce, who was amazing, by the way.
He is amazing. Wait, and he was in what? Wait, sorry, I interrupted you. He was in what? The big bounces. Okay. I didn't see the big bounce. Okay. Who was in which also starred Morgan Freeman. Okay. Who was in the air I breathe.
Who was with Kevin Bacon there? It's so boom, right? Boom, boom, boom. Bacon. I was only like four. Right. Did you just say bacon achieved? Yes. Okay. Um, so it was a joke, right? But then it blew up. Oh my God. And so now, like talk shows, trivia and ice, even academic papers, um, all started using this. Does Kevin Bacon know this about himself?
He does because. So he knows a Legends the Six Degrees of Separation guy, and he leaned into it and started a charity called six degrees org. He did not org. No. Did not? Yes. Are you kidding? Did you know this before? Wait, no. And help people Connect for Good. No bullshit. I need to know this. Did you know this before this episode?
Absolutely not. Okay. No, no, no, no. I've never, like I knew the Kevin Bacon thing. I've never heard of this, but I didn't even know in my life. I've never heard this. I am completely dumbfounded. Really? Yes. Like I'm the opposite of Clants. Oh, there you go. I am. I've got nothing going on here. So you're getting sort of sophisticated, I'm not flexing on.
Wow. Yeah. Holy shit. And so Kevin Bacon has a whole frigging like website. Yes. Six degrees.org. Yeah. To help people connect for good. Yep. Oh my God, that's fascinating stuff right there. Okay, but here's the real kicker. Why? I just give him a lot of credit. Like what a cool dude. It's okay. And especially 'cause he leaned into it.
Right. Go. Okay, go with that. So the real kicker. Yeah. The game actually mirrors real network theory. So another theory kind of like the small world theory, right? That we talked about. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, but it's not just about. Actors, it's just about how tightly connected our systems are. So you can find this in film politics, local PTA.
Okay, but hold on, I'm gonna blow your mind for a second. Do not get mad at me. Okay. Do not get mad at me. I'll not like, the reason it works with Hollywood is because they're already in the network, like you just said. The reason it work with politics is they're already in a system. I want it to work with me and Kevin Bacon.
Like I want to be, actually, can I want it to be outside of those systems? Get Yeah. And it can. Okay. And it can. Alright. We talked about earlier as to, um, remember that the word propinquity Prop propinquity, yeah. Yeah. Propinquity. You gotta remember your own words. I know. I, but we also, and you're the one that came up with those words.
I'm not the, no, I didn't come with that one. And Propinquity, I learned about it. Okay. Anyways. Yeah, that's, it's gonna be smaller, right? Like when it's within your own network, it's like three degrees of separation or something. Got it. But six. You, but six. You six is your, okay. Almost connect with anybody in the world is the theory.
Here's the deal, dude. Like you, I, the psychology part, like, I'm sort of buying, 'cause you said psychology, math, and history, right? You gave me a little bit of history. You gave me some psychology. Like there's no math or science in this whole thing. Like Right, it's coming. Oh, okay. All right. Because by the way, I'm not gonna believe you until that shows up.
Okay, fine. I'm just, I'm just, you could do, if you're still doing your parts, do your parts. I'm just telling you I wanna get to that part at some point. I mean, 'cause studies have shown that even in massive systems like you were just talking about, the average number of steps between any two people is still around six.
But now, thanks to like social media specifically Facebook, it's closer to three and a half. Really? Yeah. Holy shit. So wait a second. I'm not just one degree from Kevin Bacon. I'm like a half a degree. From your cousin's, dentist's improv coach. Like, yeah. I think it was actually my cousin's dentist improv coach that gave you your improv lessons.
It might have been. It might've been. See, by the way, she was a really, I'm just kidding. She was very old lady. Okay. Anyway. The theory only matters because it's not like just a trivial fact, right? It's how ideas are spread, how jobs get filled, and how movements grow. Oh, I'll tell you how movements grow. I, yeah, they grow in my bathroom. Oh my God. Stop it. That's how movements grow. Stop it. Stop it. Okay, fine. I'm not Every lady enjoys your sex jokes.
I'm just saying that wasn't a sex joke. That was a poop joke. I was having ulence you, you're so conditioned to assume I'm gonna make a sex joke. I am. You're hysterical. That's absolutely not true. Alright, fine. Whatever. Keep this thing going. I need to know, like more about why this works.
I want all like the psychology, sociology. I want all the shit behind it. Okay. Are you ready? Yes. I don't know if you're ready, but I want like, but no, you, you gotta start giving me the real science. Here's thing. You already know some of this, right?
You go fine. 'cause like human brains are wire for connection. We know this. Yes. We had an episode about this, right? We know this, correct. Um, we are just social animals and we've survived by forming tribes, alliances, and networks. And we still do. Which by the way, correct. I think that's how we should all live, right?
That's a subject for another podcast, but yes. Okay. And so. Evolution has favored the people who can build relationships. Go Darwin. It's why we have mirror neurons. Yeah. I love mirror. I'm a big mirroring person. Yes. So like not only, not only do I look at myself in the mirror, but there is a lot of mirroring going on.
I'm do I do a lot of that at work, honestly, like no joke that you get, we get our awkward to authentic episode. Sure. One degree of separation. Thank you very much people. But we were talking about mirroring behaviors. That was super important. Yeah, I got you. I'm with you. Right. So they help us empathize.
Yep. You mimic Uhhuh and then you create a bond. It's how babies learn. Yeah. It's true. Mm-hmm. And it's why we feel awkward when someone doesn't wave back to us when we do. Yes. It's, it's why I feel awkward when I'm, I don't know, trying to host a podcast and you stare at me like I have my head up my ass and roll your eyes at me when I would just like you to input and say something.
Yes. I think I do a very fine job's back too. It's fine. Here we're so. Got it. We're basically built to network. Yes. Understood. 'cause our brain, I brains are constantly scanning for social cues. Right. Okay. But the kicker is, except the people that don't know how to network. Holy shit. Then it, it's hard, right?
Uh, it's more than hard. But our brains don't necessarily distinguish how much between a strong and weak tie there is. So like even casual acquaintances light up our social reward centers.
And so that's why a random compliment from a stranger can feel more validating than one from like your mom. That is fascinating actually. And I am gonna confirm that with someone on LinkedIn. Wanted to connect like a podcast guy Uhhuh, right? In the entertainment industry. You'll understand in a second why, and all he wrote was, you're awesome. Let's connect. And it got my, I didn't like, I didn't connect. Right. Don't get me wrong, I didn't like, didn't.
But it got your attention. Didn't go for it, but it absolute right. It was your dopamine hit. Got my attention. 'cause I was like, what? And like that totally has to come from an entertainer, in the entertainment industry. Right? Fair. It's not coming from some business leader, whatever. So I was like, huh, interesting.
Anyway, get back to your point. I'm totally sorry. Random compliments were awesome. I understand. So right on that, on the random compliments and wheat ties. So sociologist Mark Granovetter coined the, so Mark Granovetter, let's go. How do we know Mark? Just look. Did you just look him up or is he like a, he's a sociologist from 1973. Wait, are we six degrees separated from Mark? I mean, maybe. Probably again, everybody is okay. You can figure it out. Oh, I wanna know. I wanna know if I'm like a Granovetter guy. Okay. I don't know. All right. Wait, sorry. What did he do? But he found that people were more likely to get jobs through acquaintances than close friends.
And why might you ask? Because weak ties connect you to new circles. So they're the bridges. This is kind of like when you were talking about, wait a second, you want to. Be able to connect to people who are outside of your little community group. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what these weak ties are, right?
Yeah. These weak ties get you outside. Oh, this is fascinating. Your close proximity. Do you remember, you remember my whole like theory on the concentric circles of who's in each sphere? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uhhuh that I talk about all the time when it relates to Gabby's death and how people move through those.
Weird, so what you're saying is my weak ties on the outside are actually important and good ties because they can help me. My networking abilities, even though I don't necessarily understand that, like on the surface, right, right. Like you may not have, have, they're important to have a deep connection with them, but yes, like at some point in time, those weak ties, those bridges.
So one would argue those bridges can give you more perspective, make you more sort of sophisticated, get you outside of your box, get you into new circles, get you to learn new things. This is all fascinatingly how trends spread, how movements grow. Okay. On the flip side, how misinformation can travel, we talked about that.
I remember in one of our episodes, 70% faster misinformation. Yep. Yeah. Holy shit. And so, like these arteries are very tied to culture, right? So it's not just like small talk, it's, this is fascinating. More to it. Right. Okay. I, I'm, uh, I'm with you. So. I don't know how I fit into this whole weird social construct of all this, but I would argue that, uh, okay, I'll get you a little bit closer.
What? Okay. A little bit closer. Okay. Got what? So there are biases, right? Of, you know, people, oh, this, this isn't real. Yeah. We know the biases. Okay. We're all with the biases, biases, biases. But if we look at the familiarity principle, it basically says that we're more likely to trust and connect with people who feel familiar.
Of course, even if it's just because it's a mutual friend. Yes. I share hometown, right? Duh. 100%. Of course. Yes. As soon as you find that common connect, that's why they tell you in interviews all the time, try to find the connection. Yes, I'm I'm with you completely. Okay. Yes. Then there's another, which is the halo effect.
What's the halo effect? So if someone's connected to someone we admire. We will just generally admire them too. The person that's connected, right. And that's why name dropping works. It's like you drop a name and he's like, oh, I like so and so. I like so and so. We must like each other. Well, just cloud.
That's bullshit. That's total cloud. So here's the deal. You know what I'm thinking? Because I admire trend so much. That why, that's why you like me. That's why I admire you a little bit. There you go. Yeah. Yeah. But in fact, it's completely wasted. It's because you, it's all about Trent. Yeah. Wow. It's all founded in Trent.
So, um, shout out to one of my dear friends and she knows who she is, so I won't go ahead and say her name on this podcast. Uh, but she's the queen. The. Queen of name, droppers, dude, every time we hang out. And, um, it doesn't make me want to connect with her more.
Actually, it makes me want to, um, have another drink and then have another drink and then somehow run away as fast as I can. So what's going on there? The halo effect is not working, uh, because she is my zero degree of separation and she's one of my best friend besties and my dear Right. She's a dear, dear friend.
Now you're already her friend. I'm teasing her to death right now. Don't need, you don't need to connect with her on that level. Yes. But that's maybe how she connects with new people. Got it. By name dropping, she uses that as a connection. Yeah. Yeah. I already, I don't need that from her. Correct. I see. And so I don't think, does she name drop to you or, oh, or does she name drop around you?
No, all the time. She name drops to me. Don't, yeah. You can explain the effect and how she, she use it for good. My guess is she uses that tool. It's probably her best tool. So she probably uses it all the time to her advantage to be able to break into all the new circles and all the things that you're just talking about.
So I'm, I'm not shitting on her at all. I'm actually saying like, I totally get it. She doesn't need to do that with me. With you. But she's just used to flexing that muscle all the time probably. That is fascinating. There you go. Interesting. Okay. Wow. Good job applying it. Hey, there we are. Right? And then like the last like little theory that kind of goes along with this.
Hold on, hold on. Familiarity principle. Yes. Halo effect, Uhhuh. And now you gimme one more. Yes. Social proof. Social proof. Okay. We got three. Go ahead. Yeah. So we look to others to validate our choices. So if someone we know who knows someone famous, it makes us feel closer to that fame or that person, Zendaya.
Right. Interesting. So my sister, uh, dated a famous gentleman. Oh. Um, and you're absolutely right. It did make me feel closer right to that person, even though I followed his, followed his career a little more. Wanted to understand more about what he was doing. Da, da, da. You're absolutely right. And so we, all of these things, right?
All of these theories make the six degrees of separation work. Are you saying our brains are clants chasers? They absolutely are. Is that what's happening? Absolutely. Are. How much, by the way, how much money do you owe me? I have clants the shit out this so far. Yeah. Maybe it was too easy of a word. Okay. I knew you would relate really well with it.
Sorry. Okay. Um, but yeah, our brains right. We just, we just wanna connect all the time. We crave belonging. I, I do, I know I do. And so this whole thing of six degrees of separation. Okay. I have to throw you off for a second. Do introverts crave belonging as much as extroverts, or is it just Absolutely they do.
I think everybody does. Oh, okay. Interesting. Is it 📍 at the same degree? Is that what you're asking? I didn't know introverts even craved it.
I, my assumption would be they did not crave it. No, I think introverts wanna connect. They just think it's exhausting for them. Huh. Okay. Got it. I dunno. Um, it looks like you're typing something over there. So what, what, what are you Googling? Uh, six Degrees of Separation is in fact a movie that came out in 1993 with none other than our friend, uh, will Smith, thank you very much. Who notoriously slapped. Chris Rock on stage. He did? Oh yes. Keep my wives outta your mouth. Alright, sorry. And continue. Wow, I got way off track there. Okay. So I got it. We got the familiarity principle, we got the halo effect, we got social proof. I'm starting to buy this whole theory. I'm with you. The science is starting to prove itself out here, but now I wanna know sort of like how this all applies. Gimme like the real world shit More about how it shapes what's going on in society as a whole.
Please. 'cause I, I'm not, I'm not gonna just do this you know, one V one thing. Okay. I gotta go. So if take, I'm a macro guy. Sure. So if we take it away from people Yes. Thank you. Right. And we go more, we look at it like patterns. Thank you. I like my patterns. Or Gabby would say patterns 'cause she never could say it.
Right. Pageants. I love it. Yes. I love all the Gabby. It was the cutest thing ever. Pageants continue. So if we look at it from the epidemiology side, so like during COVID, they used
contact tracing, um, which relied on the whole network theory that we talked about earlier. Right. So one infected person could reach hundreds Yeah. Through their weak ties, which would be like the gym, the office, you know, walking down the street, God, et cetera. Oh my God. Uh, post-traumatic stress right now.
Right. But that's how they used it, right? Yeah. They did all of these theories. Um, marketing. So brands will use micro influencers, uh, to tap into niche networks. One would argue that you are a micro influencer. And so one post that might be the nicest thing you've ever said, I know a micro influencer, but like one post by you or by like a mid-tier creator could ripple through thousands of weaker ties.
So instead of like going for the person who has a million Yep. They wanna be, you know, the person who has 12. Well, yay. It's more about just. You're more willing to trust what you're posting, putting out there and actually click or, you know, follow through. Yes. That makes sense. Okay. Uh, politics, that's how grassroot campaigns kind of start.
So go, you know Jimmy Carter? Yep. Volunteers reaching out to friends who then reach out to their friends, who then, you know, it just. Exponentially gross. Right? Um, security. So intelligence agencies actually use social network analysis to map terrorist cells. Wait, what? Seriously? Yeah. Uhhuh. And we actually know somebody who does this, um, but they look really for like nodes and edges.
And it is fascinating because even if you're on the fringe of these groups, right, you still have a tie with them and then from whatever you've gathered from them, it spreads out, right?
And so that's kind of how the sell blow. It's like a crazy ass web of like, it feels like it's the blueprint of culture. It is. quite wild. It's like the operating system of society. It is quite wild. Right. But what's gonna blow your mind even more is like the more connected we become.
Yes. Especially with social media and the internet and all the things, the faster everything moves, ideas, trends, diseases, revolutions like and how, again, misinformation spreads. Yeah. So it's, every ripple is just, it gets bigger and bigger. Right. I'm having a moment with the concept of I'm not really just sharing something. I'm actually changing the way that the, the ocean moves or , like the butterfly effect. You saw that movie, correct? Yes, yes, yes. Uhhuh. How The Butterfly Fla Its Wings and Create a Tsunami or Yes. Whatever. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Quite amazing. Alright, so I'm, I'm feeling like, I'm feeling like I got a little bit of everything here. I got my science, I got a little bit of math. I didn't love the math, but I got the math. Um, I got my psychology. Uh, do we got more crap that we gotta go over like somehow I'm like two handshakes away from the guy who invented the Roomba or something. Or can we just go to fun facts? Fun facts. Do you have fun facts or no fun facts? I do, I do have some fun facts. Wait, do you have anything else we have to talk about first?
Well, because I don't wanna like just go straight to fun facts if you got shit. No, I mean that's pretty much it, right? It's just understanding that even though, like we use that term six degrees of separation. Yes. Um, there is like scientific proof, psychology behind it. And sociology all intertwined. Like there's much more to it. You know, we should do what? Um, we should have done a test. We should have had a name that we could be like, Hey, how are we connected with that person? Or whatever. I mean, I was gonna do that at the end in our call to action.
Oh my God. We ha Okay. All right. All all. So are you ready for fun facts? I am. All right. Launch, then. I'm listening. Let's go. So, number one, Kevin Bacon didn't invent the game, but he did lean in and create that charity like we talked six degrees.org.
Yes. Which I think is, has to be a fun fact because that's the best fact ever. Right. How does that, how does that happen? Um, okay. And, and let's be honest, he was just trying to make a buck. Okay. Maybe. I mean, I know. It's like philanthropy, but like he's gotta be making a buck.
Yeah. I'm gonna have to look it up. Okay, fine. No, I'm interested. Alright, fine. Um, was it all good intentions or not? I don't know. Uh, number two. Facebook proved the average degree of separation globally is now only 3.5. That's 'cause of social media. That's insane. That's insane. Number three. Propinquity explains why most people will marry someone within 10 miles. Wow. Hold on. You'll marry someone within 10 miles of where? Trent, where you live. Did you, Trent, did you and Trent do that?
I mean, I was at UCI, he was at Chapman. I'm gonna say it's 10 miles. Yeah. See, I mean, proximity. Right? Okay. I was in Fountain Valley, my wife was in yba. Linda, close enough, but you wanna know something else? Hmm. My wife was born in Newark, New Jersey, and I was born in Mount Kisco, 📍 New York , also very close. Oh.
Go figure. But that's also probably you connected more than 10. Right? But you like connected probably about where you were born and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. We connected 'cause she was hot. Aef. Okay. Well there, let's start with that. Uhhuh. Okay. Wonder, right. Okay. Sorry. Alright. Number four. The Pentagon uses a network theory to track terra cells.
I know we just talked about that's they're using node and globular and all sorts of different things. Yeah, I dunno. That's actually a fun fact. I mean, I thought it was okay, whatever, but whatever. Number five, the small world phenomenon that we kind of talked about is actually a real mathematical model. I, nobody else will gee you out about that, but I will. I need to get Paul on this immediately. You need to, I'm calling Paul after this. We shoulda have asked. I know Paul. Tell me all about the small world phenomenon by phenomenon.
What was his name? Good old Stanley Milgram, huh? All right. Go, go, go. Okay, number six. Number six. LinkedIn's algorithms are all built on six degree logic. So everything we just talked about, that is how LinkedIn works really. Yeah. That should have been your first fun fact. I know.
That was the best fun fact. I was trying to save it. Okay. Ready? What? That's excellent. Anyways, I got, okay. Um, and then last, sociologists have found that even in large cities, most people are only three to four steps away from someone in a completely different industry or social class.
Which if you think about is kind of crazy 'cause we talked earlier on how. It makes sense that we are all connected and you know, all these people in your little world. Yeah. But only three to four steps away from a completely different industry and social class. That's insane. That's crazy. Like I, I'd even know who I'd be connected to in that. I gotta go test that out. Yeah, I, I'm really curious 'cause your network is pretty cool. So. Alright, I'm gonna wrap it up. You ready? I made you a cheat sheet. Let's though again. I feel like we can already wrapping it up. I kind of think I went over maybe our wrap up in our fun facts, but did you That's, yeah. Mine weren't not as good as yours. Do you see again, you just a good job. Are we wrapped?
At least give us a call to do me a favor. I'm gonna summarize it real quick. Okay. Summarize it real quick. Fine. And then just do the call to action because we need a call to action. Okay. Ready? Okay. So first go, six degrees of separation is a real thing.
Mm-hmm. And it started with a male experiment and it's now backed by data. Yeah. Nebraska. To Boston. Next. Weak ties are powerful. They spread ideas faster than your inner circle.
Number three, propinquity matters. Physical and emotional closeness. It drives our connection. Number four, social networks are now shaping everything from job offers to global politics. And number five, every person you meet expands your network.
Like every connection counts, even the weak ones. Even my connection with you. That's crazy. Yeah. There you go. All right. Gimme my call to action. Um, okay. Ready? So, if you wanna dig deeper, check out, linked by Albert Laslow Babai, or the documentary. Connected the power of six degrees or I, if you just don't want something for fun, watch Will Smith's six degrees of separation.
Or you can do the DIY version of all of these things and pick a celebrity and see how fast you can connect yourself. What is your fascination with celebrity? I don't want to pick a celebrity. I think people then pick your top CEO because I think people, I wanna do a CEO.
No, I wanna do like. Some sort of farmer in Pennsylvania, in Amish country, then do it. Okay. But you need a name. That's the only problem. Joe. Bob Frieder. Great. This person. Yeah. I'm gonna look him up right now. I have no idea. I just made up that name. No, see, my point is you actually have a name.
That's why it's easy for people to pick celebrities because they have a name and they can figure it out. I don't care who it is. Celebrity, not celebrity, see how fast you can connect yourself to them. Jesus Christ. Can I do Jesus? Do you think I could do Jesus Christ in six steps? I will test your theory. No more jokes. I'm testing it. Okay. Six steps people. That's it. All right, fellow listeners, that's our wrap on six Degrees of Separation.
If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review, share it in your network with six people, and maybe just maybe you'll be the missing link between us and Zendaya. Who knows? Right? We don't know. I thought the missing link manifest it. By the way, I thought the missing link was Lucy. I thought we figured that way.
Oh, I thought it was like Sasquatch. What? No, it's Lucy. There's Oh, that's right. The funky Lucy, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh my God. All right. That's fascinating. All right. Anyway, until next time. Everybody, stay curious, stay connected, and remember every stranger. Just six handshakes away from changing your life.
Oh my God. What if you're like a germophobe and you don't wanna shake their hand? It's like, I am. That's carry hand sanitizer. Oh, yes. You'll be good. That's it. That's all you need to remember. People act like it's COVID. Just carry, carry hand sanitizer out.
