Six handshakes away from anyone in the world

Hello, What’s your name? What do you study? Where are you from? Over, and over, and over. 

No matter who you are, I can bet you will hear these same questions more now than ever before. Around 2000 students are just like you, starting their St Andrews experience for the first time. And while figuring out classes, advising, and eduroam are important, university remains a time for socialising. 

Objectively speaking, never before and never again will you come into contact with so many new people so quickly. This might feel daunting, but what if I were to tell you that those people might not necessarily be strangers?

For one thing, St Andrews is one of the country’s most international universities. Almost half of the student body comes from a country besides the UK, with more than 145 countries represented. The chances of finding someone from your home country, if not your home city, are relatively high. 

But that is not the only reason. Since the 1930s, mathematicians and social scientists have been fascinated by the “small world hypothesis.” This theory claims that human society, despite its size, is actually closely interlinked. Indeed, multiple experiments have led to what is known as the “six degrees of separation” idea, the notion that  we are connected to any given  person on the planet by no more than five other people. Reading this, you might be skeptical, and rightfully so. How is it possible that a random person from anywhere in the world is just six handshakes away from world leaders, Hollywood stars, Olympic athletes, and even yourself?

With eight billion people and still counting, calling the world “small” can sound ironic, but with the advancement of technology and travel, our planet is better connected than it has ever been. Obviously, there are exceptions to the theory. Certain isolated communities still exist, forming closed loops which stop them from connecting with the outside world. These groups are, however, extremely rare, and so for the overwhelming majority of cases the theory still stands. In fact, it could even be too pessimistic.

The invention of social media has given humans the ability to connect and stay in touch with so many people in so many different places. Indeed, analysis conducted first by Facebook and then by Twitter (or X, if you fancy that) has shown that any two users are, on average, only 4.5 people away from each other. Think about it — I am sure you have had the experience of adding someone on Instagram and realising that you already had mutuals you would have never expected.

This concept has become so famous that it inspired not just an opera but its movie adaptation (called “Six Degrees of Separation”, nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe), and the idea reached even Hollywood star Kevin Bacon. Indeed, the “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” is a fun way of labelling every actor based on how long a chain of movie co-stars is needed to link them to the American actor.

Now, let’s get back to why all of this matters to you, newly arrived fresher. Everyone, no matter how outgoing or confident they are, gets to their first day of uni with the fear, be it big or small, of not making friends and feeling lonely. Trust me when I say that will not be the case. Trust me, that will not be the case.

Many like to refer to St Andrews as “The Bubble,” a unique community set apart from the outside world. It makes sense why people think this way. You currently find yourself in a flyover town on the coast of Scotland, with only three main streets and a population that’s fifty-percent students. Everything here feels slightly different, and if you come from a big city, you will definitely feel the change. But it is precisely this characteristic that makes socialising so much easier than you might think. You do not have to do anything special. Halls, canteens and classes will inevitably lead to those almost cliché questions we mentioned in the beginning. And if those are not enough, the university boasts over 200 societies and sports clubs where you can meet even more people with similar interests. 

And here is where the math of the six degrees of separation comes into play. If we have seen that the whole world is only a couple of handshakes apart, imagine how much lower that number must be in our little bubble. Maybe you will not find that chain that connects you to every other student before you even set foot in St Andrews, but you will surely find someone with something in common with you. And once you get through your first conversation with another fresher, then you can be mathematically certain that, just by spending time with them or tagging along, you are connected to every single other fresher (and more) in town.

Meeting people sounds simpler when viewed this way, but if you are worried about making that first conversation, do not stress: everyone is in the same situation. We all get here on the same boat (or bus, in most cases), so just as you would like someone to come up to you and introduce themselves, do not be scared of doing the same yourself; I can guarantee the other person was hoping you would. At the end of the day, they are just a “friend of a friend” away from you already.

Illustration by Dasha Andreeva