Kinship vs. friendship, the cognitive demands of monogamy, or why 400 Facebook friends may be a health hazard.
In 1992, anthropologist and evolutionary biologist Robin Dunbar proposed Dunbar’s Number — a theoretical cognitive limit on the number of people with whom we can maintain viable social relationships. He pinned that number at 148, or roughly 150. But how does this translate to today’s social media environment of 400-friend Facebook profiles — does it help us beat Dunbar’s number?
I had the pleasure of guest blogging on Brain Pickings this week. To read the full article please click here.