Have you ever met or had a conversation with someone and learned that you knew the same person? Or, has anyone wanted to connect with you on social media because you have someone in common, but you didn’t know you two knew this person? If this has happened to you, this is proof that it is really a small world. Also, it shows that the six degrees of separation are smaller than we think.
According to Merriam Webster, (it’s a) small world means ” to show surprise when one meets someone one knows at an unexpected place or finds out that one shares a friend, acquaintance, etc., with another person.”
Here’s a history of six degrees of separation according to How Stuff Works:
Back in 1967, the social psychologist Stanley Milgrim published a fascinating article in the very first issue of Psychology Today called “The Small World Problem.” Milgrim was already famous for his shocking (literally) “obedience to authority” experiment, in which regular people zapped strangers with increasingly powerful electrical shocks, all in the name of “following orders.”
But Milgrim’s 1967 article came to an equally startling conclusion: Every person in the world was connected by an average of six people. A random person in Iowa could be connected to a complete stranger in Belarus with a chain of six or fewer acquaintances. It was a small world, after all!
My Small World Story #1
While perusing the Aldi’s Find aisle, I saw one of my mother’s classmates from high school, Penny. We started talking about entrepreneurial ventures and she mentioned a family member’s daughter who left corporate America and started a shelter for males. Penny also mentioned that the person wrote a book about “F” corporate America. As soon as she said the title of the book, I knew who she was talking about, LaCoya Lashawn.
I met LaCoya when she rode with our bicycle group a few years ago. She’s cool peeps with a lot of knowledge. At the time, she was working on a different venture, which was her passion. It was great to hear from Penny that LaCoya was working her purpose and passion. Also, I wrote about her book, F**k the Fairytale: My Escape from Corporate America.
My Small World Story #2 – In person
I worked the front counter at a government agency, so I greeted everyone who came into our office. We had a lively customer whose name escapes me right now, but she specialized in baking. I’ll just call her Sarah. A few weeks after our first encounter, we attended the same networking event. After the event, we connected on Facebook. A little while later, Sarah sent a message asking me how I knew her cousin, Miles. I rollerskated with Miles. Whaaaaattt?
Lessons from Small World Experiences
Although both of my experiences were about people I knew and adored, there will be times when you’ve had a not-so-positive experience with the mentioned person. So, what do you do? First, you can say nothing. You don’t even have to mention that you know the person. Or second, speak positive things about the person. This is the one time most people would agree that it’s okay to lie.
Another lesson from these experiences: you have everything you need within your circle. What does that mean? If you need something or need to know something, ask people closest to you. If they cannot help, they probably know someone who can.
Those were the only two small world stories I could think of as I wrote this post, as well as lessons learned.
What about you?
What is one of your most memorable small world experiences or lessons from the experience? Let us know in the comment box below.
Image credits: Ann H – Small World, Cottonbro Studio – People on Bench
