Veritasium: Something Strange Happens When You Trace How Connected We Are

TL;DR

This Veritasium video unpacks the “six degrees of separation” phenomenon by diving into small-world networks: how a handful of random links or “shortcuts” (plus the surprisingly powerful “weak ties”) shrink our social world, making it shockingly easy to connect with almost anyone.

Along the way, you’ll see how diseases can race through these networks, why hubs (super-connected nodes) naturally emerge via preferential attachment, and how simple choices—think the Prisoner’s Dilemma—can ripple out to reshape the entire network.

Watch on YouTube