Dunbar’s Number

Misconception vs. Truth

Misconception:
There is a Rolodex in your mind with the names and faces of everyone you’ve ever known.

Truth:
You can maintain relationships and keep up with only around 150 people at once.

Zero-Sum System of Social Relationships

  • The brain has a limit on how many people you can maintain meaningful relationships with, not due to space, but because of the energy required for social connections.
  • Keeping up with more people means having to reduce the time and effort spent on existing relationships.

Social Grooming and Human Connections

  • In primates, social relationships are maintained through grooming behaviors. In humans, these have evolved into social activities like talking, hanging out, and teamwork.
  • Despite technological advances allowing for distant connections, the fundamental mechanisms and limitations of social relationships remain.

Dunbar's Number

  • Anthropologist Robin Dunbar discovered that humans can maintain relationships with about 150 to 230 people, dictated by the size of the neocortex.
  • The neocortex helps manage social grooming, which is crucial for maintaining group cohesion.

Evolutionary Basis and Group Size

  • Larger groups require more effort to maintain because each member must keep track of the social dynamics between all members.
  • Historically, human societies, such as tribes and villages, naturally formed groups of about 150 people to stay manageable.

Language and Social Grooming

  • Language increases the efficiency of social grooming, allowing for larger group sizes compared to other primates.
  • Even with the advent of language and technology, the upper limit for meaningful relationships remains around 150 people.

Modern Implications and Organizational Structure

  • Dunbar's Number influences modern organization structures, with effective groups often subdividing once they grow beyond 150 members.
  • Corporations and institutions use hierarchies and divisions to manage larger numbers of people.

Social Media and Weak Ties

  • Even with social media, where users can have thousands of connections, strong relationships are limited to about 150 people.
  • On platforms like Facebook, individuals maintain strong communication with fewer than 20 people, despite having a much larger number of friends.

Practical Takeaway

  • True, meaningful relationships require constant grooming and effort, which imposes natural limits on how many people you can closely connect with.
  • The number of connections in social media does not equate to meaningful relationships; real influence and trust are reserved for a much smaller close-knit group.