--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Six degrees of separation doesn't mean…" description: "\"Six degrees of separation doesn't mean that everyone is linked to everyone else in just six steps. It means that a very small number of people are link..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/malcolm-gladwell-348_degrees_six-degrees-of-separation-doesn-t-mean-t_2736222.png" --- # Six degrees of separation doesn't mean that everyone is… ![“Six degrees of separation doesn't mean that everyone is linked to everyone else in just six steps. It means that a very small number of people are linked to everyone else in a few steps, and the rest of us are linked to the world through those special few.” quote by Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/malcolm-gladwell-348_degrees_six-degrees-of-separation-doesn-t-mean-t_2736222.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/malcolm-gladwell-348_degrees_six-degrees-of-separation-doesn-t-mean-t_2736222.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/malcolm-gladwell-348_degrees_six-degrees-of-separation-doesn-t-mean-t_2736222.png) > “Six degrees of separation doesn't mean that everyone is linked to everyone else in just six steps. It means that a very small number of people are linked to everyone else in a few steps, and the rest of us are linked to the world through those special few.” [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A few highly connected individuals link most people, not everyone directly linked in six steps. **In simple terms:** A small core connects the world. Key Takeaway Leverage key connectors for influence. Themes networking influence social structure Mood analytical strategic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - marketing - career networking - community building Key Concepts small world theory centrality hub nodes Questions to Reflect On - Who are the central connectors in your field? - How can you become a hub? A Different Perspective Overreliance on hubs can create bottlenecks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Separation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separation/) [Six degrees of separation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/six-degrees-of-separation/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“In the six degrees of separation, not all degrees are equal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/in-the-six-degrees-of-separation-not-all-degrees-are-equal/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“They say there is six degrees of separation between you and another person. However, when people are praying for you there are only two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/they-say-there-is-six-degrees-of-separation-between-you-and-another/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. 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It was a set of directions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lee/the-theory-of-six-degrees-of-separation-was-never-meant-to-see-how/) [Michael Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lee/) > [One can't deny what has happened to us in the past. The secret is to enjoy and be proud of the music we've created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-nash/one-can-t-deny-what-has-happened-to-us-in-the-past-the-secret-is-to/) [Graham Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-nash/) > [“Whatever the case, he saw now that it was a rare, difficult and improbable thing for two people from worlds apart to find themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitav-ghosh/whatever-the-case-he-saw-now-that-it-was-a-rare-difficult-and/) [Amitav Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitav-ghosh/) > [People have linked me to a lot of people. 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My life is a collage of unaccounted for brush strokes; I am all random”.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/how-much-of-your-life-can-you-account-for-my-life-is-a-collage-of/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [“If we are connected to everyone else by six degrees and we can influence them up to three degrees, then one way to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/if-we-are-connected-to-everyone-else-by-six-degrees-and-we-can/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) ## More by Malcolm Gladwell > [When I go to my health club, and it's in the basement, you have to take the elevator down. 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His point is simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/most-psychologists-believe-that-nature-genetics-accounts-for-about/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) [Explore all 647 Malcolm Gladwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) ## More Degrees quotes > [ \[Photography is \] likewise even French impressionists. So the Sculls bought pop. It was politics, and they moved with it. 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To the degree that I can live in the death of Jesus - to that degree I can channel God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/life-comes-from-death-to-the-degree-that-i-can-live-in-the-death-of/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [By heaven we understand a state of happiness infinite in degree, and endless in duration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/by-heaven-we-understand-a-state-of-happiness-infinite-in-degree-and/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [As hard as I try to live with some degree of faith in my life, I just can't believe that the full moon can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gould/as-hard-as-i-try-to-live-with-some-degree-of-faith-in-my-life-i-just/) [Dana Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gould/) > [The male dares to be different to the degree that he accepts his passivity and his desire to be female, his fagginess. The farthest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-solanas/the-male-dares-to-be-different-to-the-degree-that-he-accepts-his/) [Valerie Solanas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-solanas/) > [ What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-consoling-that-white-brothers/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [My mother taught me three things, respect, knowledge-search for knowledge, it's an eternal journey. 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