January 25, 2010 at 21:54150 people: physiological limitation on friendship
Perhaps the development of social networks may someday stop for natural reasons. Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary anthropology from Oxford, as early as the mid-90s, put forward the theory that the human brain is not able to retain information about more than 150 friends (the “Dunbar number”).
A “friend” in Dunbar’s terminology is a person with whom an emotional connection is maintained, communication is carried out at least once a year and about which a person remembers his relationship with other friends.
The physiological limits of the brain do not depend on the properties of a person’s character and on how friendly and sociable he is. According to the professor, restrictions exist in the neocortex, the department responsible for conscious thoughts and speech.
The English professor has been working on this theory for 15 years - and it is still being confirmed. Dunbar draws his conclusions based on an analysis of social ties in various social groups - from the first group settlements of Neolithic people to modern office groups. In any situation, as the scientist proves, the team loses signs of unity and falls apart into fragments as soon as its size exceeds 150 people.
Recently, Professor Dunbar began to study social networks, suggesting that modern technology can change something in the human mind. But nothing has changed. He found that formally a person can have a thousand friends on a social network, but if you look at traffic, it is easy to see that for each person he is limited to the same maximum circle of 150 people.
It is easiest for women to maintain friendship through discussion of various issues, and for men through joint activities.
via The Sunday Times
A “friend” in Dunbar’s terminology is a person with whom an emotional connection is maintained, communication is carried out at least once a year and about which a person remembers his relationship with other friends.
The physiological limits of the brain do not depend on the properties of a person’s character and on how friendly and sociable he is. According to the professor, restrictions exist in the neocortex, the department responsible for conscious thoughts and speech.
The English professor has been working on this theory for 15 years - and it is still being confirmed. Dunbar draws his conclusions based on an analysis of social ties in various social groups - from the first group settlements of Neolithic people to modern office groups. In any situation, as the scientist proves, the team loses signs of unity and falls apart into fragments as soon as its size exceeds 150 people.
Recently, Professor Dunbar began to study social networks, suggesting that modern technology can change something in the human mind. But nothing has changed. He found that formally a person can have a thousand friends on a social network, but if you look at traffic, it is easy to see that for each person he is limited to the same maximum circle of 150 people.
It is easiest for women to maintain friendship through discussion of various issues, and for men through joint activities.
via The Sunday Times