Why anarchy doesn't scale

[andrewducker]

The magic number 150 "seems to represent the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship" -- perhaps (for example) it's the tipping point between a band and a tribe (one having formal leadership, the other tending not) in Jared Diamond's Types of Societies. Anyway, this number could arise from the cost of maintaining the network versus its complexity. An interesting thought.

I couldn't say it any better than the original, so that's a direct cut/paste from here.

Comments

[autodidactic.livejournal.com]

Maybe that's why I can only handle around 150 friends on my LJ before I start going crazy.

Maybe that's why there are only 150 interests. Maybe the math gets stupid and/or complicated after that number.

A.