Dinesh's photos with the keyword: Robin Dunbar

The first thing we found was that conversation groups are not infinitely large. In fact, there appears to be a decisive upper limit of about four on the number of individuals who can be involved in a conversation. The next time you are at a social gathering such as a reception or a party, take a look around you. You will see that conversation begin when two or three individuals start talking to each other. In due course, other individuals will join them one by one. As each does so, the speaker and the listeners try to involve them in the conversation, directing comments to them or simply moving to allow them to join the circle. However, when the group reaches five people, things start to go wrong. The group becomes unstable: despite all efforts (and groups often do try),, it proves impossible to retain the attention of all the members. Instead, two individuals will start talking to each other, setting up a rival conversation within the group. Eventually, they will break away to start a new conversation group. This is a remarkably robust feature of humans conversational behaviour, and I guarantee that you will see it if you spend a few minutes watching people in social settings. ~ Page 121