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The Small-World Experiment is a seminal study in social network^[1] theory that aimed to understand the likelihood of two randomly selected individuals knowing each other. The experiment, which began in cities such as Omaha, Wichita, and Boston, sought to measure the average path lengths in a social network. Participants were asked to forward information packets, containing letters and business reply cards, to a known contact who was closer to the intended recipient. This technique was used to track the chain of connections and identify breaks in the chain. The results demonstrated varying chain lengths, with some links as short as one or two and others as long as nine or ten. The Small-World Experiment played a key role in shaping our understanding of social networks and has influenced several related concepts in social sciences and popular culture, like the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game and the Erdős number in mathematics.

Terms definitions

1. ↑ social network.

1 A social network, as the term suggests, is a system that connects various individuals or organizations, also known as social actors. It's not just about online platforms like Facebook or Twitter, but about the intricate web of connections between these actors. The relationships, known as dyadic ties, allow for interaction and communication. By studying these networks, we can identify patterns and understand how influence works within the group. The field of social network analysis has roots in several areas such as social psychology, sociology, statistics, and graph theory. It's an evolving interdisciplinary field that uses various methods to analyze these social structures and provides theoretical explanations for the observed patterns. Key figures like Georg Simmel and Jacob Moreno have made significant contributions to this field.

2 A social network is a structure made up of individuals or organizations, known as actors, and the relationships or connections between them, referred to as ties. It is a field deeply rooted in disciplines such as sociology, psychology, statistics, and graph theory. The analysis of these networks, known as Social Network Analysis, involves identifying patterns, pinpointing influential entities, and studying how these networks evolve over time. It uses a variety of methodologies to study these structures. The development of this field has been significantly influenced by figures like Georg Simmel and Jacob Moreno, who made significant contributions to social network theories and methods. The study of social networks is interdisciplinary in nature, employing diverse methods to analyze network dynamics and patterns.

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Glossary

Small-world experiment (Wikipedia)

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The small-world experiment comprised several experiments conducted by Stanley Milgram and other researchers examining the average path length for social networks of people in the United States. The research was groundbreaking in that it suggested that human society is a small-world-type network characterized by short path-lengths. The experiments are often associated with the phrase "six degrees of separation", although Milgram did not use this term himself.

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