do you know of this theory....could it apply to survival groups,tribes,mags etc.
Dunbar's number
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number
Dunbar's number
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number
Dunbar's number
- Thread starter elkhound
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Dunbar is full of primate dung. A social group is vastly different than the individuals to be counted on in a survival group. I can count on 1 hand the people I would let into my survival group, but the people I would go to an event with is much higher. Tribes and mags is completely outside the box of his thoughts.
YMMV.
YMMV.
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That number for me is nowhere near 150. 3 of my 4 children, their spouses and children, the four close friends that I have and an ex-girlfriend that my wife and I share a relationship with.
I know a lot more people but don't interact socially with them, not even brothers and sisters.
It is somewhere around 20 people.
I know a lot more people but don't interact socially with them, not even brothers and sisters.
It is somewhere around 20 people.
There might be 150 or more that I would feel comfortable with to have a drink or meal with on the spur of the moment. To have them move into a MAG, not very many. I know tribal villages from a couple hundred to over a thousand that rely on each other to this day. Theirs is a different way of life. When someone dies the next baby born is given their name. You might hear an adult calling a newborn Grandfather. This brings family relationships onto a level that few here understand. If you wish to be a part of that group you need to marry into it or develop a personal relationship that is as close as a brother. In some villages you will never be accepted. I had a friend that was told that he was welcome if his wife brought him but to never show up alone.
That would be a small number for me. Including folks I work with it would be under 100. Folks I'd consider pulling in close would be under 20
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I don't believe this number can be applied to SHTF MAGS...you get down to talking "life/death" depending on the members of your MAG, and you are going to end up with a very LOW number of people you would trust with your life!! 
I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of people I could rely on in a SHTF situation, people I have known for nearly 40 years, unfortunately they are all city dwellers and unlikely to survive the event.
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Let then 25 people.
Not a criticism ... an observation ... you are here so you have some need of or use for some level of interaction, albeit apparently not face to face
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adding my opinion or knowledge by typing a few words on a thread are entirely different to me to having a conversation face to face, the internet could crash tomorrow and never reappear and it wouldn't bother me one bit.
fair enough, everyone is different. I could never do the hermit thing. I am an introvert but still require some controlled level of social interaction, pererably face to face. I do like to have some people around, but to have to interact with them constantly would drain me very quickly
i'm the opposite, i'd be quite satisfied doing the hermit bit, if starting tomorrow morning I never came across another living human being for whatever is left of the rest of my life I would be happy, I do not need other people to interact with.
I was brought up as an only child and spent most of my free time both man and boy alone, I have lived alone and I have lived off grid.
I know many people say that we humans are social animals, but I am not, I prefer animals and natural surroundings.
maybe i'm not human after all? not homo sapien, maybe some off shoot some other species!!!
Nah ... you are human ... just different. Those differences are what make people interesting, if we were all the same, even if we were all perfect like me... it would be boringi'm the opposite, i'd be quite satisfied doing the hermit bit, if starting tomorrow morning I never came across another living human being for whatever is left of the rest of my life I would be happy, I do not need other people to interact with.
I was brought up as an only child and spent most of my free time both man and boy alone, I have lived alone and I have lived off grid.
I know many people say that we humans are social animals, but I am not, I prefer animals and natural surroundings.
maybe i'm not human after all? not homo sapien, maybe some off shoot some other species!!!
I go weeks at a time without seeing anyone, except my wife. I like people and I enjoy being around them but I don't feel a need to be around people. I do need a lot of alone time.
Every person has differing social needs. Sometimes I wish I was less social, at other times I need to man up and be more social. As they say different strokes for different folks.
I have a sister who could go forever without seeing another person, another sister is a total social butterfly, I think she might go crazy if she was on her own for 48 hours
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OK. now, for those of you old enough to remember "life before the Internet.," what did you DO before there WAS an Internet???!!
I read books, instead of reading off the internet, I was out in the woods or on the water. I also spent lots of time building or fixing stuff. When my buddies hung with me they stayed out of trouble. I wasn't an angel, I just have an ability to not get caught.
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Yep, reading actual books, not eBooks. Going hunting, fishing, or just exploring the woods. Go to a movie, hit the drive-in for an A & W Root Beer float, or Sonic hamburger and fries....ah, life before the Internet!! Gone forever!!
One of the best things that could happen to me is to be in a place with no one else within a day's driving distance.
One of the worst things that could happen to my wife is to be in a place with no one else within a day's driving distance.
One of the worst things that could happen to my wife is to be in a place with no one else within a day's driving distance.
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