Two degrees to Obama

Six degrees to Kevin Bacon is a concept that says everybody is connected to everybody through a string of five people. It started with Kevin Bacon who at some point said he had worked with more or less everybody in Hollywood, or somebody who worked with them. A similar concept exists in mathematical science, where researchers can calculate the shortest path of collaboration to Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdös.

My Paul Erdös number is four, by the way. Since last week, my Obama number is two. Eric Lander, director of Broad, was named as one of Obama’s scientific advisors. I had lunch with Eric on multiple occasions and he remembered my name, so I can say he knows me. Crazy shit that I have a common contact with Obama! I know this sounds like showing off (and it is, really) but I am truly impressed by the pace of the new administration and their choice for change. Science has suffered severely from the Bush administration, both by restrictions and financially. Obama has promised to double funding for cancer research in the coming years, and with Eric as one of his top advisors that is a promise he is likely to keep!