The Dunbar’s Number of Investing

Man, they say is a social animal. Leave him alone on an Island, and he will not last long even if he has the amenities needed for survival. I am not sure if any social scientist has ever done such an experiment, but it is highly unlikely that many people can survive in an isolated environment. Maybe that is the reason Hollywood makes so many movies on this theme. In fact, one of my favourites is one such movie titled ‘Cast Away.’ This film depicts a FedEx employee stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in the South Pacific and his attempts to survive on the island using remnants of his plane’s cargo.

This need to seek the company of others is an evolutionary trait. Mother nature has hardwired it into our genes. Our ancestors lived in a hostile environment, and it gave them a survival advantage to be a part of a tribe.

Before agricultural revolution, humans roamed around picking roots, berries, and nuts and hunted smaller animals. The nomadic lifestyle required them to be vigilant against predators and unfamiliar environment. Living together in a larger group made it easier and more efficient for these hunter-gatherers.

The instinct to crave safety in a larger group is still present in the modern man. It manifests in the form of modern tribes – nation states, organizations, and even WhatsApp groups.

However, our modern communities are quite different from the ancient tribes. Today, even the size of a WhatsApp group can run into few hundred members. Moreover, a typical smartphone user would be part of at least a dozen such groups. Add to it the other offline communities that each of us belong to like – the organization where we work, the apartment society, our country, etc.

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