Tactics for Tech Leadership (TTL)

The Trial of One-Five-Zero


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A core foundation of business, online communities, and social networks is the concept of Dunbar's Number: the suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. But recently there have been critiques in the scientific community as to the validity of the theory behind the number, as well as the number itself.


In this episode, Andy and Mon-Chaio delve into the research around Dunbar's Number, both Dunbar's original papers as well as the recently published critiques. They explore the possibility that Dunbar's Number does not exist and, if true, what it means for all the business theory for technical organizations built on top of this concept.

References:

  • Neocortex size as a constraint on group size in primates
  • Coevolution of neocortex size, group size and language in humans
  • Innovation Democracy: W.L. Gore's Original Management Model
  • Dunbar's number: group size and brain physiology in humans reexamined
  • Discrete Hierarchical Organization of Social Group Sizes
  • ...more
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    Tactics for Tech Leadership (TTL)By Andrew Parker and Mon-Chaio Lo