How we showed Homer’s Odyssey is not pure fiction, with a little help from Facebook

When you look at networks of people, whether it’s architects or table tennis players or a regular bunch of Facebook friends, they will have certain similarities.

• Authors:
• The Conversation

They tend to confirm the “six degrees of separation” idea that most people are connected in a few very short steps.

Each person tends to have large numbers of connections and to associate with people who are similar to them.

The networks are also usually organised into hierarchies.

In fiction – the Marvel universe or Lord of the Rings, say – networks of people usually differ in certain ways to the real thing.

People don’t only…

• How we showed…