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The weak ties were strong all along.

The real treasure was the weak ties we made along the way.

Jokes aside I do agree with you! The little things actually build up to the big things. Trying to insist on the big things via big-things-methods, that somehow forego the little things that comprise it all, will ironically have you miss the actual big thing. (Which might not be what you're pointing at... but I am!)

I think social graphs are often pre-disposed to capturing strong interactions only—an email chain, a trace-able back and forth (just as this), friend degree networks—not the off-hand conversations you overhead on the coffee corner, a tidbit you saw on a documentary awaiting a doctor's appointment, a faraway poster hanging on a museum wall.. you get the idea. Weak ties are everywhere! (Just not always recorded)

I like what you're saying.

There's a quote in The Wire, when an ex-cop becomes a teacher in some of the toughest schools. The principal says to the new teacher about to be thrown into the gauntlet, "You need soft eyes."

Feels similar to what you're pointing out.

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