Modeling Friendship
Prepared by:
Joseph Malkevitch
Department of Mathematics
York College (CUNY)
Jamaica, New York 11451
email:
malkevitch@york.cuny.edu
web page:
http://york.cuny.edu/~malk
Everyone values their friends but the notion of friendship is subtle and complex. Here are some questions to help you think through some of the issues involved.
Question 1
Do you think that everyone whom you consider as a friend considers you as a friend?
Question 2
Do you think you have more or fewer friends than your "typical" or "average" friend?
Question 3
Do you think it is reasonable to model the notion of being friends using a graph?
Question 4
Do you think it is reasonable to model the notion of being an acquaintance using a graph?