With the no hand shaking health advice what does this mean for the six degrees of separation concept?

[Cateran]

If we are advised to restrict our physical contact to a social distance,and with many everyday shops, pharmacies, clubs etc coming under this recommendation, we are going to be self-isolating to an almost hermetical degree of cutting ourselves off from most human contact. So, what can this possibly mean for society in the UK and for the rest of the world? For the knowledge of this concept I refer you to Stanley Milgram, a U.S theoretician who has elaborated on six degrees of separation, suggesting that we are, each one of us, only six persons distance away from five other beings whom we will know quite closely through our common humanity and thus the rest of the planet's population. The link is our handshake. Will the corona virus epidemic hurl us back to the stone age and cave life?

[sassy59]

Possibly Cateran. Me? I’m hibernating with Pete for the foreseeable future. Xxx

[hypercat54]

God forgive!

[teenieleek]

Cateran, are you a tutor/lecturer? Your posts need another word at the end of them....Discuss. A word that I dealt with for four years back in the mists of time and still makes me quail. But, my short answer is that we’ve lost our societal certainties, our anchors, one of which might be the handshake but this pestilence is going to threaten many more basic things than that. I’m waiting for all the freaks, weirdos and ersatz religious fundamentalists to seep out of the woodwork offering hope, explanation and cures, all totally philanthropically of course!

[Cateran in reply to teenieleek]

Thank you teenieleek for your opening question. I am not a lecturer but I am a graduate of Edinburgh University and a retired schoolmaster with a lifetime of reading avidly.I take your reference to the "Discuss"as a potential follow-on to my original question, and with possibly, a disguised compliment there somewhere, or perhaps not. I certainly take your closing comments as a wise observation concerning possible responses about handshakes and what they symbolise with human empathy. Your own humanity is certainly apparent to me.

[teenieleek in reply to Cateran]

Ha, takes one to know one! I am a graduate of Glasgow University, did one year of philosophy and considered continuing with it but chose a different direction. I’ve still got some of the essays, they used to be marked using Greek characters e.g. alpha - -, beta +. Never knew how I was doing.

[Cateran in reply to teenieleek]

gaudeamus igitur

[Hidden]

What I'm hoping is, it will lead to greater international co-operation to avoid such a disaster ever happening again.

But I suppose the experience could be so damaging, and we witness so much suffering, that we turn in on ourselves and bury our feelings (((shudder))) leading to an aloof & robotic society. I think not, as we are sociable, empathic beings.

Maybe we should make an effort to drop our British reserve and sing to each other from our balconies & gardens, like our European friends.

[Cateran in reply to Hidden]

Yes Hanne62, we should drop our British reserve, though I am not sure about balconies and serenading folk, not with my pathetic singing voice. I might cause a diplomatic incident with Italy! As for the handshake idea and community of others, the six degrees circle mentioned in my post reminds me of the Noel Coward refrain: "I once knew a man who once knew a woman who danced with the Prince of Wales."

[Izb1]

Humanity needs human contact and I for one when this is all over will revert back to giving my friends a hug x