perspectivealternative
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An alternative account treats shared neighbours as a measurement artefact rather than a social mechanism. High-degree hubs create many apparent overlaps mechanically, and data-collection practices may preferentially reveal certain edges. Under this view, common-neighbour success can reflect sampling structure, popularity or platform design. Centrality correction, temporal validation and comparisons with null models are needed before interpreting predictive gain as evidence of genuine triadic closure.
controversy
Supporting arguments
- Hubs inflate overlap even without meaningful affinity.
- Observation processes may omit edges systematically.
- Null models can separate mechanism from topology.
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