This ratio limits how much complexity a social system can handle. Dunbar concluded that the size, relative to the body, of the neocortex – the part of the brain associated with cognition and language – is linked to the size of a cohesive social group. This ratio was mapped out using neuroimaging and observation of time spent on grooming, an important social behaviour of primates. Dunbar became convinced that there was a ratio between brain sizes and group sizes through his studies of non-human primates. But the question about whether these limits are the same in today’s digital world – one in which it’s common to have social media profiles, or online forums, with thousands of followers – is more complicated.Īccording to British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, the “magic number” is 150. There are well-defined limits to the number of friends and acquaintances the average person can retain. If you’ve ever been romantically rejected by someone who just wanted to be friends, you may have delivered a version of this line: “I’ve got enough friends already.” Your implication, of course, being that people only have enough emotional bandwidth for a certain number of buddies.
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