How it can be a Big, and a Small, World at the Same Time

As of 2010, the estimated population on earth was 6.8 Billion people.  The surface area of all land on earth is about 57,506,000 square miles.  That means that each square mile on earth holds about 76 people, if they were spread evenly.  Think about a square mile around your house.  If you imagined 76 people in it, they’d be grouped together in families or tribes, and there would be lots of space in between.  You would most likely run into them sometime while on the way to forage, or to borrow an egg.  But you would most likely stick to those you know, and unless you needed something from a stranger, you would steer clear of unknowns.

But in today’s world, most people are clustered in metropolitan areas because the resources there are easier to obtain.  And chances are you run into people you know all the time.  And then you find out that people you know know other people you didn’t know that they knew, and they know you too.  In the language of Linked In, this would be a second connection.  Take the situation of a dear friend that I tried to set up with Joe, a soccer acquaintance of Jerry’s.  She and I ride horses; Joe and Jerry are soccer teammates.  Two different worlds.

So we invite them both over, these friends who are close to us but unknown to each other.  After some conversation, we all realize that they have a mutual friend, with whom Joe lives at the moment.  Small World.

Now take Zoe, an acquaintance in Florida with whom I have spoken on the telephone for over 3 years.  She’s crazy, and unforgettable, and our conversations would be loud and raucous.  Anyone that meets her would surely remember her strong personality and stunning good looks.  Her Facebook page has over 2900 fans, and twice as many people follow her on Twitter.

And she’s missing, and none of those people–whether first or second connections–know where she is.  How could such a vibrant, colorful and high profile person just disappear?  In a world where your cousin went to school with mine, where we can find Facebook friends from our junior high school classes, and where long lost friends can reunite after years of separation, how can someone actually disappear without a trace?

Now criminal conduct aside, which I pray is not the situation, Zoe could be the person to pull an Elvis, a Jim Morrison or a Marilyn.  But how do you make yourself invisible in this Small World?

My point here is this:  you are never really alone unless you want to be.  Just look outside, and most likely it won’t be long before you  see a face that you’ve seen before.  It’s the familiarity of community.  The peace in recognition.  The sense of being part of something.

Unless you don’t want to be, in which case, you can just pull a Zoe.