Something Strange Happens When You Trace How Connected We Are explores the math behind “six degrees of separation,” showing how just a few random shortcuts and weak ties turn sprawling networks into small worlds. Using simulations of disease spread and network growth, the video reveals why hubs (super-connectors) inevitably form through preferential attachment, and how adding or removing just a couple of links can dramatically shrink—or expand—the average path length between us all.
Along the way it credits pioneers like Duncan Watts, Steven Strogatz and Albert-László Barabási, throws in a Prisoner’s Dilemma twist, and reminds us that our individual choices—every click, share or handshake—can ripple through the entire network, for better or worse.
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