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Published online 8 August 2003 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news030804-10
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More than six degrees separate us
Perception and motivation influence social networks.
An e-mail experiment has confirmed the famous 'six degrees of separation' of human social networks, but revealed that individuals don't necessarily benefit from their connectedness.
The ease with which two people can hook up depends also on their perceptions of social structures and their motivation to get connected, say Duncan Watts of Columbia University, New York and his colleagues1.
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