Small World

There is an unproven sociological theory that all people are connected to each other with no more than 6 "links". This is called, Six Degrees of Separation. In simpler terms, it's a small world. Psychologists have been developing the theory since the 1950's or even earlier. In pop culture the phenomenon is better known as the Kevin Bacon game. Supposedly, if you take any actor you can connect him to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less. Here's an example I thought of recently. Matthew Broderick was in Ferris Bueller with Jennifer Grey, who was in Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze, who was in Ghost, with Demi Moore, who was in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon. We have been watching the miniseries, "North and South" (thanks to Netflix) and have made many more connections to Kevin Bacon via Patrick Swayze. There is probably a mathematical explanation for this, but math makes my head hurt, so I leave that to Rebecca. (Perhaps you could do a segment of "Ask an Applied Mathematician")

As a believer in the Bible's version of creation, I know that all human life began with Adam and Eve. Many years after they lived, was the great flood. Noah and his family were the only survivors. Therefore, if you go back far enough in a person's ancestry we are all related somehow through the lineage of Noah.

I don't know about you, but it seems like I make acquaintances in some of the strangest places. A good example is the checkout line at Walmart. I get asked a lot where I am from, since I don't sound like native Kentuckians. (Depending on who you ask anyway) I once met someone who told me she was from IL. She told me I wouldn't recognize the name of her town, but I did because it was right outside my hometown of Rockford. Imagine meeting someone from Rockford, IL in Bardstown, KY. Another time, I recognized a customer's last name, and made the casual comment that was a familiar name in my family tree. As it turned out, the man was my grandfather's 2nd cousin, or something like that. It really is a small world!!