Yahoo! Research Small World Experiment

This is a pretty interesting experiment that’s being conducted by Yahoo! Research — they want to prove the “six-degrees of separation” theory and using Facebook to prove it.

Since Facebook has the largest database of user (closing in on 1 billion), it’s only logical to use this network as a testing ground for the experiment.

The Small World Experiment may finally prove that…

The Small World Experiment is designed to test the hypothesis that anyone in the world can get a message to anyone else in just “six degrees of separation” by passing it from friend to friend. Sociologists have tried to prove (or disprove) this claim for decades, but it is still unresolved.

Now, using Facebook we finally have the technology to put the hypothesis to a proper scientific test. By participating in this experiment, you’ll not only get to see how you’re connected to people you might never otherwise encounter, you will also be helping to advance the science of social networks.

Check it out here if you want to participate.