Absent or invisible ties In a footnote, Mark Granovetter defines what he considers as absent ties: Included in 'absent' are both the lack of any relationship and ties without substantial significance, such as a 'nodding' relationship between people living on the same street, or the 'tie' to the vendor from whom one customarily buys a morning newspaper. That two people 'know' each other by name need not move their relation out of this category if their interaction is negligible. In some contexts, however (disasters, for example), such 'negligible' ties might usefully be distinguished from non existent ties. This is an ambiguity caused by substitution, for convenience of exposition, of discrete values for an underlying continuous variable. The concept of invisible tie was proposed to overcome the contradiction between the adjective "absent" and this definition, which suggests that such ties exist and might "usefully be distinguished" from the absence of ties. The relationship between two familiar strangers, such as two people living on the same street, would not be absent , but invisible. Indeed, because such ties involve only limited interaction  , if any, they are hardly observable, and are often overlooked as a relevant type of ties. Absent or invisible ties nevertheless support people's sense of familiarity and belonging.
Absent or invisible ties In a footnote, Mark Granovetter defines what he considers as absent ties: Included in 'absent' are both the lack of any relationship and ties without substantial significance, such as a 'nodding' relationship between people living on the same street, or the 'tie' to the vendor from whom one customarily buys a morning newspaper. That two people 'know' each other by name need not move their relation out of this category if their interaction is negligible. In some contexts, however (disasters, for example), such 'negligible' ties might usefully be distinguished from non existent ties. This is an ambiguity caused by substitution, for convenience of exposition, of discrete values for an underlying continuous variable. The concept of invisible tie was proposed to overcome the contradiction between the adjective "absent" and this definition, which suggests that such ties exist and might "usefully be distinguished" from the absence of ties. From this perspective, the relationship between two familiar strangers, such as two people living on the same street, is not absent but invisible. Indeed, because such ties involve only limited interaction (as in the case of 'nodding relationships') , if any, they are hardly observable, and are often overlooked as a relevant type of ties. Absent or invisible ties nevertheless support people's sense of familiarity and belonging.
R
The
From this perspective, the
R
would not be absent ,
is not absent
A
(as in the case of 'nodding relationships')