According to Karinthy's theory, any two people on earth can be connected by a chain of individuals, giving new meaning to the phrase "a friend of a friend."
I think it's amazing and true. A tiny example would be social networking, like ,of course, Facebook or Twitter. I have both found and been found on Facebook. When you 'friend' someone, the site suggests people you know in common. Of course, there's no need to pursue these little points of interest, and I seldom do, but your privacy is protected, and the possibility of being in touch with someone whom I barely knew a lifetime ago, is mildly interesting.
I've worked with and have many Jewish friends and relatives, close enough to know all about "Jewish Geography." I envy that. It's fun to do the detective work. Everybody knows somebody who's related to somebody else. Like unraveling a mystery. I've seen this phenominon in action. I just stand there and watch as people become so animated when they discover that their own doctor is married to their cousins ex-wife ! Fascinating !
You can come up with your own examples. Imagine that your father attended a banquet and was introduced to the speaker by a mutual cousin. The speaker once heard and shook the hand of Nelson Mandela. So, in a small way, there's a connection, noteworthy at that.
In many families, mine for one, there is a network among people who have been married, divorced and remarried enough to connect and reconnect people all over again. I attended a backyard reception last week and ran into an ex-sister in law who is still called "Auntie" by my grown kids. Of course she is, she is still their cousin's mother.
Even though the worlds population has grown measurably since Karinthy's theorum, it still applies, and I find it comforting, somehow. Safety in numbers, perhaps. Despite the math, it makes the world seem a smaller place.
We're all in this together, so, reach out and touch someone.
2 comments:
Reach out and touch someone. . .and So I will!!
Hello Molly,
My name is Diane, and I went to High School with you in Royal Oak. You might not remember me, but I do remember you. You were the cute little fireball of spunk that made the halls glow as you passed through them. You were popular with your classmates and admired from afar by mere acquaintances. WHO KNEW that we would encounter our own "Six Degrees of Separation" when reunited by a co-worker of mine, and a longtime dear friend of yours. WHO KNEW that after all these years, you would still be very much admired and even more, be a true inspiration, through all the Trimuphs, Tribulations and Tragedies that we have shared in our secret moments of deep conversation. I believe that for everything there is a Reason, and I believe that I have been truly Blessed in our own personal "Six Degrees of Separation!!! I love ya Girlie Girl <3
are ya TRYIN' to make me cry? Thanks for reading me, thanks for saying so and thanks for being my 'sistah-friend.' I am so glad I really got to know that pretty blonde in the halls at school - what a lot of years we wasted....love you too, mah sistah ~
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