One hundred fifty. That, according to the Oxford Living Dictionary, is the “theoretical limit to the number of people with whom any individual is able to sustain a stable or meaningful social relationship.” It was first proposed by Robin Dunbar, professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford, and has now become widely known as Dunbar’s Number.
From the first time I read about his work, I have been fascinated with Professor Dunbar’s ideas – particularly with his eponymous number that has been used in so many different social fields. Which is why I uttered a cry of excitement when I recently opened a package from Oxford University Press and found within it a copy of his new book Human Evolution; Our Brains and Behavior. Look for more about it to be written here very soon.
