I was asked this brain teaser:

You have 100 MBA students. Each one knows one unique fact, but they can only share with one other person at a time. What’s the minimum number of exchanges needed to ensure everyone knows all 100 facts?

I'll give you a minute to figure it out. It took me a while too. Once you have an answer, keep reading.

The answer? 196 exchanges.

Apparently, this is a rendition of a popular puzzle. I originally thought the answer was 198, but then I read this write-up.

From what I understand, the reason you need 196 exchanges is because the most efficient way to disseminate information is in pods of four. Two pairs of two people exchange their fact, then switch pairs and now each person shares two facts. That's four exchanges.

For any additional person added, they just share their fact with one of the four hubs and is relayed back all facts at the end. Thus, the minimum number of exchanges required is 2n - 4.

While the brain teaser is fun in and of itself, it was interesting to me that the hub-and-spoke model was the most efficient for spreading information. Maybe it's a coincidence, but isn't this how society works as well? There are a few select superconnectors that are able to broadcast notable news and the latest trends. Paul Revere comes to mind.

This phenomenon is written about extensively in Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point. Even with microinfluencers competing with traditional celebrities for attention, I still think the hub and spoke model holds — albeit maybe with more hubs and less spokes per hub?