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Six Degrees of Wikipedia (& Bridge)

There’s an online experiment called Six Degrees of Wikipedia which finds “the shortest hyperlinked paths between any two pages on Wikipedia.”

It’s based around the six degrees of separation; the concept that any random six things in the world you could mention can be related by just this specific separative hierarchy. From anything to anything within just six steps. (And yes, you can type in anything.)

It’s a lot of fun to play with, for anyone who enjoys to examine odds, statistics or randomness.

As it turns out, it can also tie any single topic that has a Wikipedia page to the one for contract bridge.

Choose two topics: See how many jumps Wikipedia makes to relate the two.

The topics can be entirely unrelated, and yet somehow, they’re not.

It’s always weirder than you think.

Contract Bridge and…

Choose your own random Wikipedia topic to link back to contract bridge.

I figured; for starters, I would type in Contract Bridge and Ferrets.

Contract Bridge to Ferret! on Six Degrees of Wikipedia

The result somehow finds a link, and includes Albuquerque, New Mexico, Cardinal Direction, Lion, Coyote, Mascot and The New Yorker all on the way to relate it to the appropriate entry for Ferrets.

The idea of six-degrees is an interesting one when it’s applied to the largest encyclopedia in the world.

It’s related to the idea that the world is smaller than one would think when we’re all connected through the internet – and also happens to be related to another internet game that says any topic in the world can be six degrees of separation away from being related to actor Kevin Bacon.

Or, well, apparently contract bridge, too.

Could you always be six moves away from winning or losing? Six decisions away from the butterfly effect? Six steps away from choosing to do something good or not?