The Power in a Few Degrees of Separation

The idea behind six degrees of separation is that any two people on the planet can be connected to each other by six or fewer social connections. In our region, it can often feel more like two degrees of separation.

It’s like living in a giant small town, where everybody knows everybody else. But it is also where our networks of friends, colleagues, family – really anyone we have social interactions with – mobilize information and resources. Who we know and how resources circulate is how social capital intersects with upward mobility…