Sunday 5 July 2020

Numbers in Dunbar


Hay and I were talking to some friends yesterday about resilient societies and the concept if the ideal societal unit came up, which anthropologists have estimated to be around 150 people. This is known as Dunbar's number and is the maximum number of people an individual can have meaningful relationships with.


Once a community grows above that number, conflicts would develop as factions form, leading to a societal split and former members of that community splitting off to create their own community elsewhere. It's no accident that most medieval villages were no larger than this and, given the lack of arable land available in Scandinavia, that's possibly how the Vikings expanded dramatically from the 8th century onward.

With the advent of industrialisation and the growth of cities, that splitting and migration was no longer possible due to work pressures keeping people confined in large, unhealthy groups, and thus alternative solutions had to be found. Hay and I are convinced that this is when ancillary, non-essential businesses started up, such as nail bars, betting shops, suntan parlours, package tour companies, artisan bakeries, estate agents, coffee shops and scented candle makers.


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