Podcast appearances and mentions of Robin Dunbar

Why do so many men lose friendships in midlife? And what does science say about the impact of social isolation on male health and well-being?In this episode of The Privileged Man Podcast, host Pete Hunt sits down with renowned evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar to explore the biological and social foundations of male friendship. Dunbar, a leading expert in human relationships, explains why men are wired for structured social networks—and why losing them can have serious consequences.Find out how privileged you REALLY are in just 90 seconds by clicking here.https://insight.monumental.global/privilegedmanIn this episode, Pete and Robin discuss:The Male Friendship Crisis – Why friendships decline for men in their 40s and 50s, and how work and family pressures play a role.The Social Brain Hypothesis – How our brains evolved to manage complex social groups, and why maintaining friendships is essential for survival.Male vs. Female Friendships – Why men bond through activities rather than emotional sharing, and how this affects the longevity of their relationships.The Midlife Danger Zone – How loneliness impacts men's mental and physical health, and why social isolation is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.The Power of Tribe – How structured networks like Monumental can help men rebuild friendships, strengthen social ties, and rediscover a sense of belonging.Redesigning Male Friendships – What the future of male community looks like and how men can take action to strengthen their relationships.Robin Dunbar's research sheds light on one of the biggest but least talked-about issues facing modern men: the quiet disappearance of close friendships. In this conversation, he shares powerful insights into how men can reconnect, why tribal bonds matter, and what every man needs to know about maintaining deep, meaningful relationships.MonumentalThe Monumental Network - The Private Network For Growth Focused LeadersMonumental is an invite-only, private network for leaders ready to challenge their status quo and grow with purpose that was Founded by Pete Hunt, the host of The Privileged Man Podcast. Through weekly confidential pod meetings and monthly in-person events, Monumental creates a space where men connect authentically and hold each other accountable.Here, leaders are free to drop the mask, speak openly, and move beyond isolation.The Network empowers men to uncover their true potential, cultivate purpose, and leave meaningful legacies.And we have a lot of fun doing it.For more information, please click on this link. https://monumental.global/Podcast Production by Podders: https://podders.io

Humans are social creatures; we live in family groups, socialise with friends, and work with colleagues both in person and online. Yet, how many friends do you really have? Evolutionary psychologist Professor Robin Dunbar says it won't be more than 150. Proposed in the 1990s, ‘Dunbar's number' puts a limit on the number of stable relationships humans can maintain at any given time, and his ‘social brain hypothesis' suggests that brain size is directly related to social group size in mammals. In short, the bigger the group, the bigger the brain. In this interview with our sister publication, Research Outreach, we find out how Dunbar's education moved from philosophy to psychology and how his research moved from primates to people, as well as why size matters when it comes to social groups and evolution.Read more in Research Outreach 

Robin Dunbar, a renowned anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist, delves into human connection and the evolution of social structures. He is widely known for devising "Dunbar's Number," which explores how early life in culturally diverse environments shaped his understanding of the social complexities in monkeys, apes, and humans.From his groundbreaking studies on sociability in primates to human evolution, Robin illuminates the parallels between our primate cousins and contemporary human society, revealing how these insights contribute to our understanding of relationships today. Join us to explore:Human vs. primate social structuresDunbar's Number and its SignificanceEndorphins, bonding, and social successThe 7 Pillars of FriendshipEvolution's role in future socialisationPlease email stephen@liveunbound.com if you have any questions about what we discussed today.Like this show? Please subscribe and leave us a five-star rating and review. It's a chance to tell us what you love about the show, and it helps others discover it too. Consider leaving your Instagram handle so we can thank you personally, and feel free to follow ours.

La perspective de parler météo avec votre voisin dans le bus ou des travaux dans le quartier avec votre boulangère vous semble insurmontable ? Mais alors pourquoi votre conversation avec ce passant à propos de votre chien vous a-t-elle rempli d'une satisfaction pleine d'espoir ? Le "small talk" a mauvaise réputation, mais ces interactions anodines du quotidien sont essentielles pour les individus et pour la société. Pourquoi c'est si coûteux mais si gratifiant de parler à des inconnu·es ? Qu'est-ce qu'on fait vraiment, quand on fait du small talk ? Et comment entraîner notre muscle social pour en ressentir les bienfaits ? Dans cet épisode, Marie Misset demande à David Castello-Lopes, host du podcast Small Talk ce qu'il en pense, dans la vraie vie. Elle interroge Fabien, patron de bar pour qui le bavardage est une thérapie, et Léonard, qui parle aux gens dans le métro afin d'égayer le trajet, pour comprendre pourquoi malgré leur flemme ou leur appréhension récurrentes, ils tiennent absolument à ces échanges et comment ils font pour les initier. Pauline, coincée par un train en retard, raconte comment elle a noué une relation très forte avec une passagère en quelques heures. Avec l'anthropologue et biologiste Robin Dunbar et le chercheur Alexandre Gefen, co-directeur de l'ouvrage Le pouvoir des liens faibles, Marie Misset se demande ce qui se joue réellement dans ces échanges.Pour aller plus loin : L'épisode précédent d'Émotions sur le “liking gap” ou l'écart d'appréciation : nous avons tendance à sous-évaluer l'affection et l'intérêt que les autres ont pour nous lors de nos premières interactions ensembleL'article d'Allie Volpe dans Vox sur notre besoin de diversité de relationnelleL'étude de janvier 2025 de la Fondation de France sur les solitudes en FranceSi vous aussi vous voulez nous raconter votre histoire dans Émotions, écrivez-nous en remplissant ce formulaire ou à l'adresse hello@louiemedia.comÉmotions est un podcast de Louie Media. Marie Misset a tourné, écrit et monté cet épisode. La réalisation sonore est de Guillaume Girault. Le générique est réalisé par Clémence Reliat, à partir d'un extrait d'En Sommeil de Jaune. Elsa Berthault est en charge de la production. Abonnez-vous à notre newsletter en cliquant ici. Vous souhaitez soutenir la création et la diffusion des projets de Louie Media ? Vous pouvez le faire via le Club Louie. Nous vous proposons un soutien sans engagement, annulable à tout moment, soit en une seule fois, soit de manière régulière. Au nom de toute l'équipe de Louie : MERCI !Découvrez Timeleft : https://timeleft.onelink.me/pEeB/n3oodt24 Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

After the comic malfunctions of a self-driving car, which drove its passenger/prisoner in endless circles, Unexpected Elements rounds its attention on the humble circle. Explore how one man calculated the circumference of the Earth 2,000 years before GPS was invented, then be spellbound by the Magic Circle and the mysterious woman who broke into it. And as we hit the five-year anniversary of the COVID pandemic, we take a look at the cycle of infection and mutation, before asking, 'why don't we have one antiviral pill that kills them all?' We're joined by evolutionary psychologist Professor Robin Dunbar, who calculated Dunbar's number; that is, the maximum number of folks you can hold onto in your circle of friends... 5? 500? 5,000? Robin reveals how many REAL friends science says you can have. Presenters: Marnie Chesterton, with Camilla Mota and Phillys Mwatee Producers: Harrison Lewis, with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell and William Hornbrook

"Dinner's ready!" Do you recognise that familiar call for everyone to gather round the table and tuck in? Whether it's a takeaway with friends or a family get-together during holiday seasons, humans have been eating together for thousands of years. But why? “晚饭准备好了！” 您是否记得那个熟悉的号召大家围坐在桌子旁吃饭？无论是与朋友的外卖还是节日期间的家庭聚会，人类一起吃饭的历史已有数千年之久。但为什么？ The discovery of fire may have kickstarted communal eating for our hunter-gatherer ancestors, according to primatologist Richard Wrangham. Cooking a meal all those years ago required a social group – you needed someone to hunt the food, someone to protect the food from thieves or predators, and of course, someone to cook. And once enjoying the feast, evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar speculates that the fire's bright light may have given the humans longer nights and provided great opportunities for bonding over food. 灵长类动物学家理查德·兰厄姆表示，火的发现可能开启了我们以狩猎采集为生的祖先的集体饮食。多年前，做饭需要一个社会团体——你需要有人来寻找食物，有人来保护食物免遭小偷或掠夺者的侵害，当然，还需要有人来做饭。进化心理学家罗宾·邓巴（Robin Dunbar）在享用完这场盛宴后推测，火的明亮光芒可能让人类拥有了更长的夜晚，并为通过食物建立联系提供了绝佳的机会。 But modern humans don't face the same threats as we used to – we can cook and eat a meal by ourselves. So why should we still make group meals a ritual? In Dunbar's 2017 study 'Breaking Bread: the Functions of Social Eating', they found communal eating increased feelings of wellbeing and connectedness with the community. Despite this, the study found a third of weekday evening meals in the UK are eaten in isolation – the main cause being busy work schedules. 但现代人类不再像以前那样面临同样的威胁——我们可以自己做饭、吃饭。那么为什么我们还要把集体聚餐变成一种仪式呢？在 Dunbar 2017 年的研究“Breaking Bread：社交饮食的功能”中，他们发现集体饮食可以增加幸福感以及与社区的联系。尽管如此，研究发现英国工作日晚餐的三分之一是单独吃的——主要原因是繁忙的工作日程。 Today's reality is that having meals together can be difficult. Time management, fussy eaters, and family tensions are all things that can get in the way. But, in an article about overthinking family meals, Susannah Ayre and colleagues write 'Five tips to ease the pressure', including dropping the need for perfection. "There is no shame in reheating a frozen meal" or "eating on a picnic rug in the living room". 今天的现实是一起吃饭可能很困难。时间管理、挑食和家庭关系紧张等因素都可能成为阻碍。但是，在一篇关于过度考虑家庭膳食的文章中，苏珊娜·艾尔和同事写了“缓解压力的五个技巧”，其中包括放弃对完美的需求。“重新加热冷冻食品”或“在客厅的野餐地毯上吃东西”并不丢脸。 Sharing meals may look different today than it did for our ancestors, but the essence stays the same: food is more than just fuel. It can be a way to connect, share stories and strengthen bonds. 今天的分享膳食可能看起来与我们祖先的情况有所不同，但本质是一样的：食物不仅仅是燃料。它可以成为联系、分享故事和加强联系的一种方式。 词汇表gather round 聚到一起tuck in 痛快地吃takeaway 外卖get-together 团聚，聚会communal 群体的，集体的hunter-gatherer 狩猎采集者feast 盛宴bond 建立纽带ritual 仪式wellbeing 身心健康connectedness 连结性，联系感isolation 独立，孤立fussy 挑剔的，难以取悦的tension 矛盾，紧张的关系reheat 再次加热picnic 野餐

Each Sunday, TED shares an episode of another podcast we think you'll love, handpicked for you… by us. How many relationships should we maintain, and what are the different kinds of friendships we need anyway? In this episode of Am I Normal?,  a podcast from the TED Audio Collective, data scientist Mona Chalabi asks evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar what he's learned from been studying social relationships for 50 years. Then, Mona maps out her own relationships against the averages -- and invites you to do the same.You can find the full text transcript along with studies cited in this episode at go.ted.com/AIN2. Special thanks to guest Robin Dunbar for lending his expertise.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Each Sunday, TED shares an episode of another podcast we think you'll love, handpicked for you… by us. How many relationships should we maintain, and what are the different kinds of friendships we need anyway? In this episode of Am I Normal?,  a podcast from the TED Audio Collective, data scientist Mona Chalabi asks evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar what he's learned from been studying social relationships for 50 years. Then, Mona maps out her own relationships against the averages -- and invites you to do the same.You can find the full text transcript along with studies cited in this episode at go.ted.com/AIN2. Special thanks to guest Robin Dunbar for lending his expertise. 

What makes a team intelligent? Brian and Linda Rising explore the surprising factors that foster group intelligence, from psychological safety to diversity, backed by groundbreaking research from MIT and Google. Overview In this episode of the Agile Mentors Podcast, Brian Milner sits down with Agile thought leader Linda Rising to explore the concept of group intelligence. They dive into what makes teams intelligent, discussing the importance of diversity, psychological safety, and social perceptiveness. Using research from MIT and Google, Linda also highlights how storytelling and a growth mindset can enhance team dynamics, leading to more effective and innovative collaboration. References and resources mentioned in the show: Linda Rising Fearless Change: Patterns for Introducing New Ideas by Mary Lynn Manns & Linda Rising MIT Center For Collective Intelligence Project Aristotle The Fearless Organization by Amy C. Edmonson Amy Edmonson’s TED Talks 3 ways to better connect with your coworkers - Mark T. Rivera’s TED Talk Advanced Certified Scrum Product Owner® Advanced Certified ScrumMaster® Agile For Leaders Mountain Goat Software Certified Scrum and Agile Training Schedule Join the Agile Mentors Community Subscribe to the Agile Mentors Podcast Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we’d love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an Agile subject you’d like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode’s presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Linda Rising is an internationally recognized consultant, speaker, and author with a Ph.D. in object-based design metrics. Known for her expertise in agile development, retrospectives, and the intersection of neuroscience and software, Linda has authored five books and numerous articles. In 2020, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Agility Forum for her impactful contributions to the industry. Auto-generated Transcript: Brian (00:00) Welcome in Agile Mentors. We're back here with you for another episode of the Agile Mentors Podcast. I am with you as I always am, Brian Milner. And I wanted to introduce you today to someone I think you're really gonna enjoy here on this episode. I have the one and only Linda Rising with me. Linda, thank you so much for coming on. Linda Rising (00:09) Okay. It is my pleasure, Brian. Thank you so much for inviting me. It's a beautiful day here in Nashville, Tennessee. Brian (00:32) In Nash Vegas, yes. I actually spent a couple years in Nash Vegas. So I know that area back in the day, back in the day, because I worked at Opryland. So that'll tell you how long ago it was. Yeah, back in the dark times, right? But Linda, for those, if anyone who might not be aware, Linda is an author. She is... Linda Rising (00:33) Yeah! wow okay Brian (00:58) really what people would call an agile luminary. She has been involved with this movement for quite a while and has really, I don't think it's too far of a stretch to say shaped the conversation around this a lot with her research and other things that she's provided. we wanted to have her on because she, well, because it's Linda Rising, right? We wanted to have her on for that, but. Recently, she spoke at the Scrum Gathering, the regional Scrum Gathering that took place in Stockholm, and her topic just sounded really fascinating. I thought it would be fascinating for us to talk about. It was a topic of group intelligence. So Linda, I'm sure there's a lot of people out there like me that when they heard that the first time thought, I have no idea what that means. What does group intelligence mean? Linda Rising (01:43) Yeah. Actually, normally when I do anything, give a keynote or an interview on a podcast or the interviewer or the person who's inviting me will say, what would you like to talk about? That's what you did. What would you like to talk about with the idea that I could come up with a list of things I was interested in that I wanted to talk about because I knew something about it. Brian (02:09) Yep, it's true. Linda Rising (02:20) But in this case, no, it was, want you to be the opening keynote for this amazing gathering in Stockholm. and by the way, we want you to talk about group intelligence. So. That was about a year ago and I thought to myself, I don't know anything about, well, maybe I do. Maybe I do know something about group intelligence. But I have spent the past year getting ready for that talk. It was just a few weeks ago and along the way, what I found was it pulled together the research around this topic. pulled together a lot of things that I have been thinking about and it is still not over. I had to give that talk, there was a date for that, but now there are little threads that, as you say, I'm following those down various rabbit holes because they're connected to other things that I'm interested in. So this turned out to be, even though I didn't pick it and I didn't know a whole lot about it, It's turned out to be a great introduction to a different way of thinking. So we know what intelligence is, I think. Don't you? Do you know you have an idea? And aren't you intelligent? Brian (03:41) That's so awesome. Well, that's a quite a loaded question, right? Linda Rising (03:53) Of course you are and and so are our listeners our listeners are intelligent and what's interesting is that the psychologists who measure that They don't really have a definition for intelligence. What they do is they can test for it So have you ever had you know an intelligence test You know, an IQ test. Have you? Have you ever had one? Brian (04:25) You know what, I don't think I ever have, but I know my wife has, my daughters have, I'm very familiar with them, but I can't point back to one to say, hey, I know what my score was. Linda Rising (04:28) I'll bet you have. Well, sometimes you're given that test at a particular point, maybe in high school, and they didn't tell you that it was an intelligence test. You just took it along with the other battery of tests that you were taking at the time. And maybe they didn't tell you, you have an IQ of 145. They didn't tell you how smart you were. Brian (04:47) Yeah. Linda Rising (05:06) but somebody, somewhere, somehow along the way, they did. They measured it. And that's without having a definition for whatever it is. So what that test does is it says you're pretty good at solving a bunch of problems. And that's what the test is. Brian (05:17) That's amazing. Linda Rising (05:32) it asks you to look at some math problems, logic problems, spatial problems, different kinds of problems, and you either solve them pretty well or not so well, and when they are finished with that, that score on that test says something about how well you do at solving those problems. And that's what they're calling intelligence. Brian (06:03) I think I see where you're going with this because to me, if we're going to try to be very precise with words on that, I would say that sounds more like education. If I know how to solve a particular kind of math problem, that's because I've been educated to learn that. It's not a measure of my... Linda Rising (06:13) Yeah. Yep, yep. And so those tests, yeah, those tests do have a bias. They're biased toward people who have a certain kind of education biased against people who maybe didn't have that kind of education. Also, it doesn't even begin to talk about music. Here I am in Music City. Doesn't talk about musical talent. Brian (06:43) Yeah Linda Rising (06:46) It doesn't talk about your ability to perform, say, some sports activity, whether you're going to be a great basketball player or a baseball player. There are a lot of things that intelligence tests don't even, they don't even think about. Now, it doesn't mean this isn't a valid exercise because those IQ tests have been around a long time and they do measure what they measure, they measure it very well. And they do correlate with a lot of performance activities. In fact, if you were hiring somebody, the absolute best thing, if you could just do one thing, would be to give them an IQ test. That correlates most strongly with any kind of performance on the job. So it's a valid test, even if it has some biases, some problems. So that's individual intelligence and we call that IQ. So now the question is, can you do that for a group or a team? Brian (07:53) Yeah. Linda Rising (08:03) Could you say this group, could we measure it somehow? And if so, would it have the same kind of validity? That is, if they do well on this test, would that mean they would do well in the workplace? If we had that, then could we use it to say, all right, this team. is really going to be great for whatever it is that we wanted them to do. Is that possible? So obviously the answer is yes, or I wouldn't be here talking about it. Yeah. So the research is fascinating and it would take a long time to actually go into it, but it was started at MIT. The organization is called the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence. and they have been doing this now for over a decade. So this is not brand new out of the box. We're not sure where this is going. This has been happening and has been happening successfully. They do have a test. They can give it to a group. And what they find is that if the group does well, that group will also do well on other, just like IQ, other kinds of things that the test measures. And so, yes, they can measure group intelligence. Brian (09:38) Very interesting. This is really fascinating. Yeah. It's fascinating. I'm going to interrupt you for just a moment because I know, and forgive me if I'm taking you off track with where you were intending to go. But I know, having heard some of your other talks in the past on agile mindset and what you've written about, I know there's kind of this fundamental idea of the fixed verse. Linda Rising (09:39) It is interesting. Yeah. No, no, no, it's okay. Brian (10:05) growth mindset and the idea of intelligence being not necessarily a thing you're born with, but really something that you have the potential to change and grow. And how does that translate then to the group environment and the group's intelligence? Linda Rising (10:23) Yeah, so that's a great lead in because the next part of it was, well, okay, so we have this test and we can give it to a group, but we'd like to tease out some attributes of teams to say, you know, the teams that do really well on this test, they all seem to have, and they found there were three things that characterized Brian (10:26) Yeah. Linda Rising (10:52) intelligent group. The first one was called social perceptiveness. That is, are the people on the group, are they able to relate to each other? If one of the persons in the groups having a struggle for some reason, are they able to pick up on that? It's kind of hard to say, well what is that social perceptiveness? and we can come back to that, but that's first on the list. The second attribute is that when they have any kind of a discussion, that everybody talks. And that's pretty easy to see, and I know that you've probably been on teams as I have, where really not everybody talked, where maybe mostly one or two Brian (11:24) Yeah. Okay. Linda Rising (11:49) You know the loud people they did all the talking and the rest of us We just kind of sat in the corner and we said well, you know, whatever Yeah We've been there. Well, have we have we have seen that and I don't know how you're gonna feel about the third one But we all are concerned about diversity Brian (12:00) Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Linda Rising (12:17) We know that diversity is an issue. All organizations are struggling with the best way to deal with that. But the third attribute has to do with the percentage of women on the team. Brian (12:34) Really? Linda Rising (12:35) So this isn't like 50-50. This doesn't mean that you should have some women. It means the more women you have, the better. Ooh. You wanna think about that one? Brian (12:38) Yeah. You know what? I would not argue with that one bit because all the women that I've had in my life have been the most intelligent people I have known. So I would wholeheartedly concur with that. We're just a bunch of knuckleheads, the guys are. So I completely... Linda Rising (12:58) Ha! Brian (13:17) You know, I'm having some fun, but you're right. I can see that, you know? Like, I could see how that would be a really distinguishing characteristics. Linda Rising (13:22) Wow! So the researchers say maybe it's really not a gender thing because women are very good at social perceptiveness. And maybe what this third attribute, and they did a lot of statistical analyses, you you have to really dig down into the statistics and we don't want to do that. Maybe this third attribute is really a reflection of the first. And then if you, and here we're going to come to your growth mindset, if you could work with the people on the team who were not women, but who were these nerdy guys, know, could you somehow have them grow, improve, get better at social perceptiveness, then that would have the same effect as having more women on the team. And that's kind of where they are right now is can you do this? Are they equivalent? Are they really measuring the same thing? But they know that somehow that's what you've got to have is this ability to read. It's called theory of mind. Read the minds of the people on the team and that typically You know, we're stereotyping here. Typically men are not as good. So can you, could you, can you grow that characteristic? Can you get better? Can you get better at that? Brian (15:06) Yeah, I'll take a slight little side trail here and say that that makes perfect sense to me because one of the things that I found when I was doing my research on neurodiversity and specifically autism was that there's a book out there that I think I've shared on the podcast before, but it's called Autism in Heels. And basically the point of the book is to really examine autism in women. And one of the key points that's made in the book is the fact that when you see statistics about autism, you'll find that there's a huge number, there's a disparity. There's a large number of men, of males that are diagnosed and a few, a smaller percentage of females. And it gives the impression when you look at the data that you might think, well, this is a male thing, right? It's something that happens much more often than male. But this book is making the point that really, Linda Rising (16:02) Yeah. Brian (16:04) the criteria that was set aside to designate whether someone was autistic or not was really geared towards how it presents in males. So women were vastly underdiagnosed and still are to this day vastly underdiagnosed. And one of the things that makes it difficult to diagnose them is women are better at masking their symptoms. very much, they adapt to the environment around them. They pick up on the people around them. Linda Rising (16:18) Yeah. Brian (16:34) and they will mask the things that maybe are naturally a part of them, but they've learned in other parts of life how to do that. And so they're applying that to their autism as well. So that makes perfect sense to me. Linda Rising (16:43) Yeah. Yep, exactly. And of course, if we want to talk about women who have this tendency or on the spectrum, we have to mention Temple Grandin, who is one of the most famous female autistics in the world. I she's done more to gain attention for this problem, and she's definitely female. yeah, it's not it's not a male thing. But you're right that what's happened is that the women have had a growth mindset and whatever they inherited or were born with, they've done a better job at learning how to adapt given what they had as a limitation, adapting to working with others and using that as a strength. So that means that possibly, We could do that kind of thing to improve our teams if we included men in, well, what would it be? Would it be a training program? Would it be just coaching? Maybe this could be the job for a coach can certainly watch. The behavior of the team can notice, for instance, for that second attribute, is the discussion. Brian (17:54) Ha Linda Rising (18:10) Does that involve everybody equally? That could be a first step. And to encourage the growth in that direction. So one of the experiments that was done to follow on with that was to try to get male members of the team who didn't do well, you can actually measure social perceptiveness. And you mentioned autism, one of the tests. for autism is called reading the mind in the eyes. And with that test, you can show that people are better than others. And so maybe this could help us identify people who might benefit from this experimental approach. And that is to have something like, you know, I'm a patterns fan. So a collection of patterns that we used to talk about back in the day was written by Joshua Kerievsky and it was for running a study group where you read a book together a chapter at a time and you talk about it. So in the experiment the hypothesis was that reading a book together would improve the theory of mind or the social perceptiveness if it were a book that was fiction. Brian (19:37) Huh. Linda Rising (19:37) It's a story. A story. There's a hero and a beautiful princess and an adventurer and a bad guy and a good guy. in reading that, you learn to identify with the characters. And you talk about it. What was the character feeling when the handsome prince ran in to rescue the what was he thinking? Brian (19:39) Yeah. Linda Rising (20:05) So in a structured study group situation like that, reading fiction together and the results so far are positive but not enormous. It does help. It does help. Brian (20:20) Yeah. Yeah, I can see that, because you're trying to collectively interpret and you're getting a peek into someone else's mind of how they might interpret a situation and that can help you to interpret other situations. Yeah, I can see that. Linda Rising (20:23) May not. Yeah! Yeah, especially if someone was not in the habit of doing that. There are a lot of people who say, I've never even stopped to think about how the other members of my team are feeling. Brian (20:43) Yeah. Linda Rising (20:56) So attached to all of this is an enormous project that Google also started called Project Aristotle. And their idea was we wanna know what the secret is, what makes great teams. And they looked at everything. They spent years. mean, Google collects data, data they've got. and statisticians and analysts, they got it. And they spent years collecting and analyzing. And the summary at the end of all that was they found nothing. Brian (21:38) Hahaha Linda Rising (21:40) Did you read that? Did you read about that study? Yeah. Brian (21:44) I I'm familiar with that study. I really like what they did. Because when you have that kind of data available to you across cultures, across business units, it was an ambitious kind of study. I'm really thankful that they did it because I think they had some good findings there that came out of that as well. you're right. Linda Rising (21:52) Yeah! Yeah. Yeah? Yeah, they didn't find anything. Brian (22:12) Right, they thought it was gonna be, you know, it's a skill, it's the right mix of skills that makes it a high performing team or expertise and none of that really had a bearing. Yeah. Yeah. Linda Rising (22:15) Get off! And what was interesting about all of this is it sort of all came together because the folks at Google kind of looked over and said, well, look at what these folks at MIT are doing. And they said, maybe we're just not looking at the right thing. And they had talked about this social perceptiveness and what is that anyway? And it was kind of serendipity at about this time. Amy Edmondson wrote a book called The Fearless Organization, and it was about something she called psychological safety. And it was bigger than what the folks at MIT had identified. This has, I am free, I feel safe. Well, that would mean that you could speak up in a discussion and that would make the discussion more, okay, now we would think about what, I mean, what she talked about kind of put a big blanket around all of it and said, hey, I think we might be all talking about this. And the folks at Google said, well, you know, that makes sense. Maybe that's what we're looking for. And how do we do it? How do we do this? So your listeners might wanna just wander out to the Google site because now Google's been very transparent about this. How do you make this work? How do you bring about this psychological safety? How do you get people feel free to talk and to discussion? How do you help people be aware? of what other people are feeling. And they've got a whole raft of suggestions for managers, suggestions for team members, for, you know, and they're really all singing the same song. It's about this awareness of others, feeling that you are safe and that thinking about what other people are thinking. can lead your team to behave in more intelligent way. Brian (24:41) That's so, that's awesome. Right, right. Linda Rising (24:41) It's kind like a miracle. It's like a miracle. It all just came together. They weren't planning that. know, here at MIT, going one direction, Google going another direction. Here's Amy Edmondson at Harvard, and that it all kind of came together. Brian (24:48) That's awesome. You came together now. Yeah, Amy Edmondson is definitely one of my heroes. we've tried to get her on. We tried to get her to come on, but I know that there's layers to get to people like that. so if anyone's listening and has an end to Amy Edmondson, tell her that this is a welcome, this is a psychologically safe podcast to come on. We'd love to have her, but yeah. Linda Rising (25:07) Yeah. Well, yeah. think she did go out and talk to Google. I think there's a Google talk about psychological safety. So they did have her come in and give them some ideas, some suggestions or yeah. And she's on to failure now because her book, After Fearless Organization, which was about psychological safety, the one that, in fact, I just finished it is about failure. Brian (25:44) Yeah. That, Linda Rising (25:59) and their case studies of failures and what can you do about failure and yeah but anyway so she she's on she's she's on to whatever but yeah. Brian (26:07) That's awesome. Yes, she does great research and it's it's chock full in her book So I highly recommend her writing to anyone who's listening if that if this interests you Yeah, definitely read Amy Edmondson's work. You'll really enjoy it Linda Rising (26:14) Yeah Yeah. So, and if you do, then the story is not over, it's still going, which is, not just Amy Edmondson, but there's a fellow named Kevin Dunbar. This is not Robin Dunbar who did the 150 is kind of the magic number. This is a different Dunbar, same last name, but he did a lot of studies about thinking and. especially in science, how do scientists think? And in particular, he was interested in failure. And you know that as a scientist, you propose some hypothesis and then you test it in an experiment and then you stand back and you do an analysis and you say, well, did this work out or not? And he found that some scientists don't... like it when things don't go well. What a surprise, huh? Brian (27:26) Yeah, right. Linda Rising (27:28) Yeah, and they just ignore it. They either pretend it didn't happen or they put it in a drawer saying, we'll come back and, you know, we'll look at it later. But some scientists do a really good job of accepting that failure, working with it, and building on it. saying, hey, this is something we didn't think about. Maybe we can, they, you know, and they're off and running. It doesn't slow them down at all. And it turns out that the scientists who have that characteristic, who are able to do that, are scientists in groups. and they're in groups that are intelligent. They're diverse and open. They let everybody speak. They think about what other people are thinking if they're discouraged or not with this bad result. So the characteristics of those groups of scientists who do well with failure is the same. Brian (28:22) you Linda Rising (28:40) as the groups that MIT identified, the groups that Google is trying to grow. And I think it's really what we want in Agile development. We want groups like that. Not just because we think, intelligence is what. No. We want groups that have that characteristic. We want groups that feel psychologically safe. We want groups that feel free. Brian (28:54) Yeah. Linda Rising (29:08) to express their ideas. We want groups of people who are aware of what other people are thinking. That's what we want. Brian (29:16) Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. That's so cool. Linda Rising (29:18) So they're all talking about the same thing. They may be using different words, but they are really, and one thing that we might wanna note right here is that all these different researchers made the same mistake in the beginning. And it's the same mistake organizations make. Is they thought in the beginning that what makes a smart team is smart people. Wrong. Not that you don't want smart people. Brian (29:48) Yeah. Right. Linda Rising (29:53) But that's just an okay thing to have. You can have a team of very smart people that doesn't have any of these other characteristics that is not intelligent as a group. So I think we really have to wake up and realize, first of all, that we're doing that, that we're valuing IQ or individual intelligence, smartness, you went to this school or you got that particular SAT score. It has nothing to do with that. It's not that there's no correlation, but it's weak, it's very weak. It's much better to have people who have these other characteristics. Brian (30:33) Yeah, let me just, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Let me connect it just a second to maybe someone who's listening who's a Scrum Master or someone like that, right? You might hear this and think, those foolish leadership people, they make these kinds of mistakes. I wouldn't make that kind of mistake. I know better than this kind of thing, right? Well, how much emphasis are you placing on whether your team knows all the details of what they should be doing in Scrum versus... helping them to know and understand each other, communicate with each other, right? How much effort and energy are you putting into those things versus the facts, right? I think that's where it can hit home for us is, these other areas, I think are, as you said, really much stronger predictors of success. And I think as Agilist, that's where we should be pouring our attention into because that's what's going to make the most significant difference. Linda Rising (31:40) Yeah. And I think since software development and I've been in it for a long time has had this really strong emphasis on smartness. We like smart people. And it's not that that's a bad thing necessarily. It's that it's not enough. So as a mathematician, you could say necessary, but not sufficient. Not even close. and that all of these researchers all said the same thing, that we thought it was going to be about smart people. We thought it was about IQ, that teams of smart people would be smart. And you and I both know that's not true. Brian (32:32) Right, right, right. I've been on some teams with some very smart people that were horrible teams. Linda Rising (32:35) Yes. Yes, yes, exactly. And I guess without belaboring it or beating it up, what's happening to me right now is that in reading about all of these different research activities, more and more things start to bubble up. that sort of are like the glue that holds all of this together. And the one that just, it just happened yesterday has to do with brainstorming. So I've been on a ramp to not, you know, I'm against brainstorming because there's plenty of evidence that it doesn't work. They've done experiments, they've said, okay, here's a group of people and they're gonna get together and they're gonna come up with ideas. Okay, we know how many ideas they came up with and whether they're any good or not. And now let's just take individuals and tell them individually, you come up with ideas and then we'll just measure. And the results are always the same, the individuals do better. So I have come up with explanations for that and I'm like, okay, well here's what. Well, I was wrong. Because in the research, it just was like an accident. I just happened to discover it in one of the papers that the groups that are intelligent, the groups that are aware, the groups that embrace failure, the groups that do well also do better at brainstorming. Why is that? Well, because everybody feels free to talk. Everybody feels psychologically safe. Everybody's aware of how other people are feeling and that impacts how they come up with ideas or think about things that other people suggest. So as a group, they do superbly at brainstorming. So it's not the brainstorming, it's the group and how they... Brian (34:43) Yeah. Ha Linda Rising (34:48) get in a room together and discuss things and share ideas. And so, you know, I hate to say this is gonna be the answer to all our prayers. And of course we still don't, we're still working on, well, how do you do this? How do you make this happen? And I remember a story. It's in fact, it's in one of the documents, I'm trying to think now on the Google website. It's a story of a team. Brian (34:58) Hahaha Yeah. Linda Rising (35:18) where the team leader tells the other people on the team that he has a terminal illness. And when he did that, everybody else on the team realized that they didn't really know anything about this guy. And they in turn began to share, well, I'm also having some struggles and here's my story. And going through that. cause that team to move up a notch, if you will, to become more intelligent, to be more aware, to suddenly be a little more respectful of how the discussions were. It was just telling stories about what you're going through so that everyone will be aware of how you feel, what you think is gonna be your... Brian (35:48) Yeah. Linda Rising (36:11) future in the next six months that they didn't have any training or study groups or they just told stories. Brian (36:26) They got to know each other as humans. And it's amazing how often we forget that that's who we work with. At least right now, we work with other human beings. And I hope that never changes, because that's where the best ideas, that's where the best creativity comes from. And yeah, it's fascinating, but you're absolutely right. I can see that point. Linda Rising (36:28) Yes, exactly. think for me, this is all, it's been really a hopeful journey because in the beginning, I wasn't even sure how it would go. I didn't know anything about the intelligence of groups. And in the beginning, it was all, okay, here's what MIT is doing and reading through, I mean, there were a lot of papers that I slogged through and it wasn't until about halfway through that, I discovered. Project Aristotle and I saw, this really connects. And now all these other things start to bubble up that really make a lot of sense. And of course, that it fits. It fits with Agile. It fits with the Agile message that the big things like that cause you, especially if you've had any experience with Agile, to sort of wake up and say, how do I miss this? Brian (37:50) Ha ha. Linda Rising (37:52) I should have seen this and it's news to me. So, wow, we're all still learning, I guess, aren't we? Brian (38:03) Yeah, I mean, you get presented with something like that and think, I've kind of intuitively known this all along, but I didn't have words for it. And now, now there's a vocabulary that can describe it. And I agree, right? That's exactly what it is. So yeah, you're absolutely right. Well, Linda, this is, this is such a fascinating discussion. And, you know, it's, I had no idea where, you know, group intelligence would lead us, but that it's all just fascinating. Linda Rising (38:09) Yeah Brian (38:32) the different threads of the spider web and where this kind of ends up. So I know it led you in a lot of places with your research and everything else. I really, really appreciate you sharing that with us and helping us to try to understand a little bit of the journey you've been on and kind of discovering this over the past year or so is what you said. Linda Rising (38:53) Yep. And I was going to say, anybody, I know most people don't want to spend the time reading the original research papers, and I don't blame you, that does take a lot of, you know, have a lot of investment in that. But there are some, I would call them sort of lightweight. There's some excellent, excellent Harvard Business Review articles that do a very good job of talking about. what is happening at MIT, what is happening at Google, that kind of a high-level summary, like Harvard Business Review does that like nobody else. And of course, there are TED Talks that Amy Edmondson has given, and there are all the Google Talks, of course, are also out on YouTube. And she has been to Google as well, so you can go listen to what she has to say there. So if you want to dig into this for yourself, there's a lot that you can get without having to read the book or read all the research papers. Brian (39:57) Yeah, we'll try to link to as much of this as we can in the show notes of this. So anyone who's listening, if you want to go down one of these rabbit holes like we talked about, maybe we can point the direction and say, hey, try this one. So we'll also include in the show notes some links to some of Linda's work as well so that you can find out more about her and maybe read one of her books as well and see some of the Linda Rising (40:11) Yeah! Brian (40:27) some of the insights she's already brought to this Agile community. And if you like what you heard here, I know you'll like her books as well. So Linda, thank you so much for making your time. I know it's very busy. Thank you for coming on the show. Linda Rising (40:41) It's been my pleasure. Can we close with some good wishes, some thoughts and prayers for all the people who are in Western North Carolina or in Florida who have just been two horrible disasters and are going to be a long time recovering. And that includes my good friend and co-writer Mary Lynn Mans who's in Asheville, North Carolina. So fingers crossed, prayers, good thoughts. Brian (41:11) Absolutely. I wholeheartedly concur with you on that. So I agree. Well, thanks again, Linda.

Tracey Camilleri is the co-founder of the leadership and organisational development consultancy Thompson Harrison. In 2023, her book The Social Brain, co-authored with Samantha Rockey and Robin Dunbar was published to widespread acclaim. In this episode we hear from Tracey as she shares what she's learned about team dynamics and communicating within groups. As organisations across the board become ever more digitally enabled, location-agnostic and asynchronous, Cat learns about how to embrace human connection and build community for enhanced organisational outcomes Takeaways The leader's role is to create a thriving environment. Social interactions are essential for workplace efficiency. Small groups foster better relationships and performance. Communication is key to team coherence and success. Organisations need to prioritise social strategies. The health of small groups is crucial for innovation. Internal communicators are vital to organisational success. People's sense of belonging impacts their performance. Leadership should focus on relational aspects of work. Understanding team dynamics can enhance workplace culture.   Tracey Camilleri Tracey Camilleri is the co-founder of Thompson Harrison, along with Sam Rockey and is an Associate Fellow at Oxford University's Saïd Business School (OSBS). At OSBS, she has designed and directed the flagship Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme (2012-2022) as well as bespoke senior development programmes. She is known for her innovative design approach, her focus on the dynamics and practice of successful groups and what it means to lead healthy, thriving organisations in a world increasingly dominated by process and machines. Earlier in her career she variously ran her own consulting company, WMC Communications, worked as an associate for the private investment bank, Allen and Company, as new business director for the publishing company, Marshall Cavendish, a teacher of English literature at St Paul's Girls' School, and as a research associate at Bain and Company. Her book, 'The Social Brain: The Psychology of Successful Groups', written in partnership with Sam Rockey and evolutionary psychologist, Professor Robin Dunbar, was published by Penguin Random House in Spring 2023. Tracey has an MA from Oxford University.   Find Tracey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracey-camilleri/ Tracey's website: https://www.thompsonharrison.com/

Discover the science of human connection with psychologist Robin Dunbar in "The Social Animal." Explore the psychology behind relationships and social interactions in this captivating book.The Science of Social Intelligence: 45 Methods to Captivate People, Make a Powerful Impression, and Subconsciously Trigger Social Status and Value [Second ... (The Psychology of Social Dynamics Book 7) By Patrick KingHear it Here - https://bit.ly/socialintelking00:00:00 The Science of Social Intelligence00:06:35 The Importance Of Being Social.00:17:02 The Social Brain Hypothesis.00:26:00 The Limits Of Our Sociality.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0893ZRW1BIn this video, we'll explore the fascinating world of social intelligence and human connection. We'll discuss the importance of being social, the evolution of our social brains, and the effects of loneliness. We'll also delve into the limits of our sociality and how to effectively focus our social efforts.Here are some key takeaways from this video: Social intelligence is about how to fit in, charm people, and allow socializing to help rather than hinder you in achieving your goals. Our brains grew and developed as a result of needing to be social. Humans are social animals and need connection to thrive. There are limits to our social interactions, and we should focus our efforts on those who are most important to us.I hope you enjoy this video!

Kim Butcher talked about how vital community and relationships are for anyone following Jesus, using insights from Jesus' own life and the relationship circles described by psychologist Robin Dunbar. She encouraged us to look at the different levels of relationships we have—from our larger community to our closest friends—and challenged us to be intentional in building and nurturing those connections. Just as Jesus showed us through His life and ministry, solitude and relationships are essential for our spiritual growth and formation.

Every Friday Lauren and Nicole bring feedback from the listeners and the Self Care Club community, news from the wellness world, what's trending, what's not, product tips, TV, Podcast and book recommendations and much much more. It's a fun, fast paced show that brings you all your self care updates as you head into the weekend.  This week the listeners bring their feedback and stories around how they define true friendship and share some really beautiful words. Lauren is still obsessed with Robin Dunbar's friendship theories and confesses to be a Judgey McJudgepants and Nicole reflects on what would happen if we said to our girlfriends the same things we say to our husbands. If you like what we do here and want to be part of the club, come follow us at all our channels  To Listen To Our Brand New Podcast 40ISH - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/40ish/id1757876983 To order our book “HAVE YOU TRIED THIS?” click here  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Have-You-Tried-This-Only/dp/1801293139/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1O7EA4ZF1O5CS&keywords=have+you+tried+this&qid=1699449028&sprefix=have+you+tried+%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-2 For Our Exclusive Merch - https://self-care-club.myspreadshop.co.uk/ Join us on our Socials!  Our Private Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1115099072702743/?ref=share_group_link Instagram   https://www.instagram.com/selfcareclubpod/ YouTube https://youtube.com/c/SelfCareClub TikTok https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLnXyS1S/ Email hello@theselfcareclub.co.uk  Website www.theselfcareclub.co.uk Studio production by @launchpodstudios Music by purpleplanet.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pastor of Congregational Care and Missions Jason Dunn preaches about the covenantal relationship between Jonathan and David from 1 Samuel 18, illuminating the power of friendship and loyalty. Inspired by Justin Earley's book "Made for People" and insightful research on the perils of chronic loneliness, Pastor Jason helps challenge the notion that modern technology alone can fulfill our deepest need for connection.He also shows us Jonathan's extraordinary loyalty to David, even in the face of dire opposition from his own father, King Saul. This self-sacrificing friendship offers a powerful model for how mutual support can help us navigate life's adversities. Drawing on anthropologist Robin Dunbar's findings on the critical role human connections play in our health and longevity, Pastor Jason emphasizes that true friendships can indeed anchor us in stormy times.

Free guide on emotional intelligence: https://newsletter.sankalpgarud.org/52waysguide In this episode, I sit down with the esteemed Professor Robin Dunbar, emeritus professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford. We dive into Dunbar's Number and the science behind the limits of human relationships. Our discussion spans various topics, including the formation of friendships, the importance of shared humor, gender differences in attraction, and the dynamics of dating. We also explore how cultural and environmental factors influence social networks, the impact of online dating, and the intriguing neuroscience of relationships. Join us for a deep dive into how our relationships shape our health, happiness, and wellbeing. 00:00 Introduction to the Episode 00:07 Meet Professor Robin Dunbar 02:07 The Importance of Friendships 05:14 The Science Behind Friendships 08:06 Understanding Dunbar's Number 10:23 Layers of Relationships 35:54 Gender Differences in Friendships 57:41 Understanding Social Styles and Their Origins 59:50 The Role of Mentalizing and Inhibition in Social Systems 01:01:00 Diplomacy and Gender Differences in Social Skills 01:02:27 Romantic Relationships: Polyamory, Monogamy, and Pair Bonding 01:17:02 Gender Differences in Attraction and Relationship Dynamics 01:37:28 The Impact of Online Dating and Social Media on Relationships 01:51:56 Concluding Thoughts and Key Takeaways

"Maintenant Vous Savez" c'est également deux autres podcasts qui décryptent la culture avec "Maintenant Vous Savez - Culture" et la santé avec "Maintenant Vous Savez - Santé". Quatre fois par semaine, nous vous proposons de découvrir les meilleurs épisodes. Dans les années 90, l'anthropologue et professeur de psychologie Robin Dunbar a calculé qu'à partir de 150 relations amicales, notre cerveau sature. C'est le nombre maximum de relations significatives que l'on peut avoir en même temps, selon l'expert britannique. Il classe ces liens en 6 catégories : amis intimes, meilleurs amis, bons amis, amis, connaissances et personnes que l'on connaît de vue seulement. Aujourd'hui, ce nombre est souvent largement dépassé à l'heure des réseaux sociaux, parce que nous y englobons des connaissances et non des amis, et même des personnes avec lesquelles on n'interagit jamais. Maintenant vous savez - Santé a choisi trois bienfaits des relations amicales authentiques sur notre santé.   Qu'est-ce qu'une amitié authentique ? L'amitié peut-elle procurer des bienfaits physiques ?  Influence-t-elle notre longévité ? Ecoutez la suite de cet épisode de "Maintenant Vous Savez - Santé". Un podcast écrit et réalisé par Emilie Drugeon. Date de première diffusion : 29 juillet 2022 À écouter aussi : La viande rouge est-elle vraiment la moins écologique ? L'eau dans laquelle vous allez vous baigner cet été est-elle vraiment propre ? Comment obtenir des billets de concerts pas chers ? Retrouvez tous les épisodes de "Maintenant vous savez". Suivez Bababam sur Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar is Emeritus Professor of evolutionary psychology at Oxford University. He's also part of a small club of academics whose work has become part of the modern public discourse as the thinker behind Dunbar's Number, the idea that humans can only meaningfully maintain around 150 social relationships at a time. In the social media and hybrid working age, his work has helped us better understand how our friendships and online networks operate. His latest book, co-authored with Oxford University colleagues Samantha Rockey and Tracey Camilleri from the Saïd Business School, is The Social Brain: the Psychology of Successful Groups. The book explores how we can apply our scientific knowledge of how people form and maintain relationships to build better, happier and more creative teams. It argues that rather than being simply nice-to-have, prioritising social activities and social spaces in the workplace is essential. Joining Dunbar to discuss it is Sophie McBain, who is a contributing editor at New Statesman magazine and writes about books and ideas for The Guardian and The Sunday Times. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/IS for £100 sponsored credit. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all of our longer form interviews and Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events - Our member-only newsletter The Monthly Read, sent straight to your inbox ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series ... Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. ... Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He has lived two lives: first he reached the top of the corporate ladder and became a top banker; and now he is embarked upon the long game of changing India. Narayan Ramachandran joins Amit Varma in episode 384 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about stimulating change, building institutions -- and making ideas and serendipity come together. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Narayan Ramachandran at LinkedIn, Takshashila and Mint. 2. Narayan Ramachandran's quote on timeframes in an interview by Rithika Kumar. 3. India's Massive Pensions Crisis — Episode 347 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ajay Shah & Renuka Sane). 4. The omnibus volume of BR Nanda's biographies of Gokhale, Gandhi and Nehru. 5. The Road to Serfdom -- Friedrich Hayek. 6. The Constitution of Liberty -- Friedrich Hayek. 7. Why Talent Comes in Clusters -- Episode 8 of Everything is Everything. 8. Marching For Salt -- Amit Varma. 9. The Reformers -- Episode 28 of Everything is Everything. 10. The Life and Times of KP Krishnan — Episode 355 of The Seen and the Unseen. 11. The Median Voter Theorem. 12. Morgan Hausel's books and podcast. 13. The Fortune at The Bottom of The Pyramid -- CK Prahalad. 14. 'Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman' -- Richard Feynman. 15. Lessons from an Ankhon Dekhi Prime Minister — Amit Varma's column on reading. 16. The Surface Area of Serendipity -- Episode 39 of Everything is Everything. 17. Mindset -- Carol S Dweck. 18. Dunbar's number. 19. How Many Friends Does One Person Need? — Robin Dunbar. 20. Religion, Food, Indian Society — Episode 207 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shoba Narayan). 21. Fixing the Knowledge Society -- Episode 24 of Everything is Everything. 22. When Ideas Have Sex -- Matt Ridley. 23. Traffic -- Tom Vanderbilt. 24. RSJ's newsletter post on Akio Morita and Japan. 25. Praise for intelligence can undermine children's motivation and performance — Claudia Mueller and Carol Dweck. 26. Sudhir Sarnobat Works to Understand the World — Episode 350 of The Seen and the Unseen. 27. Rick Beato's Ultimate Bundle. 28. Rahul Matthan Seeks the Protocol -- Episode 360 of The Seen and the Unseen. 29. Beware of These Five Fallacies! -- Episode 45 of Everything is Everything. 30. Chip War -- Chris Miller. 31. The Power Law -- Sebastian Mallaby. 32. The Economist, New Yorker and National Geographic. 33. Lords of the Deccan -- Anirudh Kanisetti. 34. Empire of the Mughal -- Alex Rutherford. 35. Vajpayee: The Ascent of the Hindu Right, 1924–1977 -- Abhishek Choudhary. Amit's newsletter is explosively active again. Subscribe right away to The India Uncut Newsletter! It's free! Amit Varma and Ajay Shah have launched a new video podcast. Check out Everything is Everything on YouTube. Check out Amit's online course, The Art of Clear Writing. Episode art: ‘The Puzzle' by Simahina.

Interview with Robin Dunbar, President & CEO of Grid Metals Corp.Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/grid-metals-tsxvgrdm-50-million-plan-to-unlock-high-grade-lithium-mine-4516Recording date: 30th May 2024Grid Metals Corp. (TSXV:GRDM) is a compelling investment opportunity in the critical minerals space. The Canadian exploration and development company is advancing two highly prospective battery metal projects in mining-friendly Manitoba.Grid's flagship asset is the Donner Lake lithium project. Donner Lake hosts a 7 million tonne spodumene resource which is modest in size but boasts strong grade consistency and favorable mineralogy. The real opportunity lies in Donner Lake's proximity to existing infrastructure. Grid is pursuing toll milling agreements with nearby facilities as an alternative to constructing a concentrator on site. This strategy could slash years off the development timeline and save hundreds of millions in capex.Permitting is a key near-term catalyst for Donner Lake. Grid expects to secure an advanced exploration permit imminently, allowing for development activities. The company is targeting a full mining permit in H1 2025, positioning it to move quickly into production in a recovering lithium price environment.While Donner Lake is the near-term focus, Grid's MM nickel-copper project offers significant upside. The MM Project has a 47.7Mt resource with 317 million pounds of copper, 263 million pounds of nickel and 452,000 ounces of combined palladium, platinum and gold, with an estimated $4 billion worth of metals in-pit. Grid sees potential to expand the resource to 80-100Mt, which would make it attractive for a major mining company to get involved.Upcoming catalysts for MM include exploration results from drilling planned for late summer/fall 2024. Grid will also look to bring in a strategic partner to help develop the asset once it reaches critical mass.The company's projects are located in Manitoba, one of the world's top mining jurisdictions. Manitoba boasts excellent infrastructure, a streamlined permitting process, and a long history of mining. This combination of asset quality and jurisdiction safety is a key competitive advantage for Grid.Importantly, Grid's assets are a fit for the times. The global transition to clean energy is driving unprecedented demand for critical minerals like lithium, nickel and copper. Localizing supply chains has become a priority for western governments and automakers. Grid aims to be part of the build-out of a North American battery metals supply chain to meet this need.Grid Metals currently has a market capitalization of just C$15 million. This valuation appears far too low based on the quality of the company's assets, the strength of its management team, and the significant upside potential offered by upcoming catalysts. As the company advances its projects and proves out their potential, there is strong potential for a re-rating of the stock.In summary, Grid Metals offers investors a unique way to play the critical minerals boom. With two quality assets in a top jurisdiction, a pragmatic development approach, and multiple near-term catalysts, the company is well positioned to create value in the rapidly growing battery metals space. As CEO Robin Dunbar stated, "The industry and market are going to wake up to this." Grid Metals may just be one of the best-kept secrets in the junior mining space, but it likely won't stay that way for long.View Grid Metals' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/grid-metals-corpSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Today I'm talking about the most effective way to fill a signature program beyond private practice: Creating and nurturing Ideal Referral Partnerships. If I were to coach my clients to do only ONE kind of marketing, this would be it. Another word for this is networking. You're probably already doing this, but you might not be doing it very strategically. When I meet someone who says they don't do any marketing, but they've got customers or clients, I know they HAVE been marketing. They just didn't see their behavior as marketing. I often find out that the marketing they've been doing has been networking. If you have relationships with people who refer to you, even if you don't do any of it on purpose, you've been marketing. Maybe you've been networking with colleagues you met at trainings, at agencies you worked at, or from working with the same client at some point. You hit it off with these folks. Some of these people have referred clients to you or introduced you to other people who referred clients to you. If you're an extrovert, you might have experienced a TON of this with very little conscious effort. It's time to get strategic because your time is limited. Michelle Warner teaches a course called Networking That Pays. She points out that we can each only maintain a finite number of meaningful relationships (between 100 to 250, according to British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, author of How Many Friends Does One Person Need). We need to be strategic about WHO we spend our limited networking time and energy with. You'll also need to be more strategic when you're selling a signature program because you'll probably be serving MORE new people each year than you do in your private practice. If you do long term work, you may only need 10 new clients a year to keep your practice full, or even less in some cases. To keep a signature program full, on the other hand, you might need 30 or 100 or more new participants each year. The math is a bit different, so the networking will be a bit more strategic. I just peeked at my own statistics. This year, over half of my participants have come through my referral partners, NOT by stumbling upon my podcast or finding me through IG or google or paid ads. But let's look for a moment at the OTHER kinds of marketing activities I do and you might do too: Sending out a weekly or biweekly email. Creating a podcast episode. Delivering a free live event. Updating my website. Creating a new lead magnet. Setting up an ad funnel. Posting on social. Some of these things do help people find me, and I love that I can do these things in relative isolation. AND… It's a really bad idea to leave relationships out of our marketing practices. Networking will help to amplify the effectiveness of those other activities. Dialing down your time spent on solo digital marketing activities and dialing UP your time and energy spent with ideal referral partners is going to grow your business WAY more quickly and more reliably. Why is this kind of strategic networking so effective? LOTS of your future participants are already in someone else's audience. The people who created those audiences are your Ideal Referral Partners. By PLACE I mean things like: a podcast, a free online community, a paid community, an email newsletter list, or a paid small group program. When the person who leads and curates that gathering place invites you in and vouches for you and the work you do, you're MUCH more likely to have the trust of members of that community. Compare that to the trust that you can establish in a video on IG that is 60 seconds long. I created a step-by-step process for this activity, not because it comes easily to me. Rather I created it because it is very important and does NOT come easily to me. Here's a quick summary of that process. First, you figure out: Who are my Ideal Referral Partners? They serve your niche They probably serve your niche in a different way than you do. (If you don't know what your niche is, that's your task before you can find your Ideal Referral Partners). You have aligned enough values You don't have to agree on everything, but you resonate with the way this person works and you feel that they have integrity. They have an audience They do NOT need to have a huge audience. A very small audience of people who are highly engaged and in your niche is better than a big audience of folks not in your niche That means they've already gathered a group of your potential participants. (It's OK to spend time networking with people who just work with folks 1:1. But your growth will happen a lot faster if they have at least a small audience.) They may be open to sharing their audience with you in some way How this sharing happens may become clear right away or later on. Then, once you've identified an Ideal Referral Partner: Step one: Find where their audience is gathered. (A podcast, a community, a newsletter, a paid program, for example.) Step two: Observe. (Listen to the podcast, hang out in the group, or read the emails.) Step three: Approach them with specific praise or observations and invite connection. (If there's any way to get an introduction, ask for it!) Step four: Meet (Come with a back pocket idea, but be open to their idea, a different idea, or NO idea happening.) Step five: Try it (Be a guest on their podcast, guest teach in their course, or share each other's work.) Step six: Check in (Get in touch in from time to time and collaborate again.) When you meet, you'll start with an open ended conversation. You won't rush in and say: “I want access to your group.” They are as protective of the time, energy and well-being of their participants as you will be of yours. Plant the seed for collaboration with no pressure. Make it easy to say no. Think about what might be in it for them. Maybe you're offering access to your audience if that would serve your audience. If you have no audience yet, what's in it for them is simply your willingness to serve their folks. You're not there to extract value. You want to build trust both with the person who gathered those folks, AND with the people in that community. Be open to giving more than you get. Be unattached to the particular outcome of you serving their audience. Embrace some emotional discomfort! You might feel tempted NOT to do any of this strategic networking stuff. You might think: What if they ignore my invitation? What if the person I reach out to doesn't like me? What if I don't enjoy my time with them? What if it stays completely awkward? I mean, have you ever had a horrible networking date? Those feel bad. I get it. I'm introverted. I find small talk exhausting. I don't say that because I think I'm above small talk. I understand that small talk is a way to test easy topics and start building a bit of trust. Small talk tires me out because I don't understand it well, and meeting new people in an unstructured way is a bit painful for me. And that's what networking dates ARE. I KNOW. Some of the time this process might not go well. But I promise you, some of the time it WILL go well, and it is TOTALLY worth it. Resources Discussed: Michelle Warner (https://www.themichellewarner.com/ Shownotes at: https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/223  

Invest Like the Best Key Takeaways  Dunbar's number suggests that humans can maintain about 150 relationships at a given time Humans have spent most of our lives in smaller, hunter-gatherer groups; existing together in large cities is a relatively new thing for the species The best predictor of your mental and physical health – in addition to how long you are going to live into the future – is the number and quality of your closest relationships There is a correlation between the number of friends people claim to have and the size of certain regions in their brains “If you really want to live forever, just make sure you have five friends.” – Robin Dunbar The emotional closeness of a relationship is highly correlated to the amount of time invested in it Laughter, singing, and storytelling are how we foster emotional closeness with others without physical touch Homophily is the tendency for people to seek out or be attracted to those who are similar to themselves; this is the driving force behind friendships Face-to-face relationships are paramount: there is a significant difference between bonding with something in your head and with someone in the real worldRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgMy guest today is Robin Dunbar. Robin is a biological anthropologist, evolutionary psychologist, and specialist in primate behavior. He is the man behind Dunbar's number, a theory about the number of stable relationships we can maintain at once. Robin unravels the thread of research that led him to Dunbar's number and describes how this plays into every single person's layers of human connection. It was fascinating to hear how his findings on social circles have implications for optimally structuring businesses and organizations, as well as the idea of homophily, all of which Robin thoughtfully explains. It was a treat to get to explore these topics with Robin Dunbar himself so please enjoy this great conversation.   Listen to Founders Podcast For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the only investment research platform built for fundamental investors. Whether you're trying to get up to speed on a new market or keep tabs on a portfolio company, Tegus is the end-to-end investment research platform you need. With Tegus, you can quickly understand a company's business model, drivers, benchmarks, and management quality. To monitor an entire market, download our pre-built financial models — or update your own with the latest data using Tegus' new Excel Add-In. Tegus gives you all of this and more, all bundled into a single software license. Find out why 95% of the top 20 global private equity firms are Tegus customers. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:39) The Journey to Discovering Dunbar's Number (00:07:28) Exploring the Layers of Human Connection (00:12:27) The Significance of the 1.5 Layer in Social Circles (00:16:55) Surprising Insights from Social Network Studies (00:20:40) Applying Dunbar's Number to Organizational Structures (00:27:51) The Science of Social Bonding in Primates and Humans (00:33:23) Unlocking the Endorphin System Without Physical Touch (00:34:10) The Power of Laughter, Singing, and Storytelling in Group Bonding (00:36:00) The Limitations of Digital Interactions for Building Relationships (00:39:51) Reviving Social Clubs and Activities for Workplace Bonding (00:44:40) The Importance of Homophily in Friendships and Social Networks (00:50:40) Challenges and Solutions for Overcoming Loneliness and Building Trust (00:53:45) The Impact of Technology, Religion, and Mental Health on Social Connections (00:61:47) Reflecting on Time as a Fundamental Aspect of Social Dynamics

My guest today is Robin Dunbar. Robin is a biological anthropologist, evolutionary psychologist, and specialist in primate behavior. He is the man behind Dunbar's number, a theory about the number of stable relationships we can maintain at once. Robin unravels the thread of research that led him to Dunbar's number and describes how this plays into every single person's layers of human connection. It was fascinating to hear how his findings on social circles have implications for optimally structuring businesses and organizations, as well as the idea of homophily, all of which Robin thoughtfully explains. It was a treat to get to explore these topics with Robin Dunbar himself so please enjoy this great conversation.   Listen to Founders Podcast For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Tegus, the only investment research platform built for fundamental investors. Whether you're trying to get up to speed on a new market or keep tabs on a portfolio company, Tegus is the end-to-end investment research platform you need. With Tegus, you can quickly understand a company's business model, drivers, benchmarks, and management quality. To monitor an entire market, download our pre-built financial models — or update your own with the latest data using Tegus' new Excel Add-In. Tegus gives you all of this and more, all bundled into a single software license. Find out why 95% of the top 20 global private equity firms are Tegus customers. Learn more and get your free trial at tegus.com/patrick. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:39) The Journey to Discovering Dunbar's Number (00:07:28) Exploring the Layers of Human Connection (00:12:27) The Significance of the 1.5 Layer in Social Circles (00:16:55) Surprising Insights from Social Network Studies (00:20:40) Applying Dunbar's Number to Organizational Structures (00:27:51) The Science of Social Bonding in Primates and Humans (00:33:23) Unlocking the Endorphin System Without Physical Touch (00:34:10) The Power of Laughter, Singing, and Storytelling in Group Bonding (00:36:00) The Limitations of Digital Interactions for Building Relationships (00:39:51) Reviving Social Clubs and Activities for Workplace Bonding (00:44:40) The Importance of Homophily in Friendships and Social Networks (00:50:40) Challenges and Solutions for Overcoming Loneliness and Building Trust (00:53:45) The Impact of Technology, Religion, and Mental Health on Social Connections (00:61:47) Reflecting on Time as a Fundamental Aspect of Social Dynamics

Unlock the mysteries of human connections as we share a compelling dialogue with the man behind ‘Dunbar's Number,' the number of connections that humans can and do maintain across different cultures and time periods. What evolutionary forces have sculpted the essence of friendship and religion, also impacting our well-being and longevity?Robin Dunbar is emeritus professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford. He is also the author of several books, including Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships, How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures, and The Science of Love and Betrayal.Robin and Greg discuss storytelling and its influence on religion, probing how our cognitive prowess has enabled us to imagine unseen worlds and foster expansive social networks. Robin explains the transformative power of religious rituals and their ability to engender deep community bonds and emotional transcendence. They also examine the practical applications that our ancestral social constructs hold for the contemporary world. From the role of HR departments in nurturing community to the competitive edge ingrained within the collegiate system, they dissect the building blocks of successful organizational cultures and also what it looks like to cultivate meaningful relationships in an increasingly digital world.*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:Is religion what makes humans unique?10:11: Of the things that distinguish humans from all other animals, birds, mammals, whatever: religion is certainly a key one, but I would probably want to argue that religion itself is derivative of something else that's more generally important; that is, actually storytelling. It's the ability to tell stories, as it were. And stories are about thinking about and concocting tales about worlds that we can't physically see. So if you like invisible worlds, things that, as in a sense of fiction, is the classic case, but all the kinds of many different kinds of stories you tell—fictional and even factual stories about places far away, metropolis tales, are all about things that we can't physically see. We have to imagine in our minds, and religion is part and parcel of that spread.Friendships affect your lifespan07:10: The single most important factor affecting your mental health and well-being, your physical health and well-being, and even how long you're going to live into the future from today on is the number and quality of friendships you have. And the optimal number seems to be about five.Storytelling is a key component of religion39:10: A key component, I think, of religion, storytelling seems to play a very strong supplementary role in bonding communities. So if we want to bond large-scale communities of the kinds we have now and then, one of those is having a shared history of that we are here, not necessarily as the favored sons and daughters of God, but that we are here because of a certain kind of history.Is there a way to create a sense of belonging in an organization?46:15: There's no silver bullet that applies to every organization; you have to look at the particular local culture and think about what kind of works in that kind of environment. And given the fact that these days people have families, they want kids, they want to get home to put to bed, and they have other friends that, outside, as it were. So you've got to design it around people's natural lives as we live them these days.Show Links:Recommended Resources:Theory of MindNew Zealand National Rugby Union Team (All-Blacks)HakaMultinational CorporationThe Increasing Importance of a Best Friend at Work - GallupAmazon's Two-Pizza TeamsDunbar's NumberGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at OxfordWikipedia ProfileHis Work:Amazon Author PageThe Social Brain: The Psychology of Successful GroupsFriends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important RelationshipsHow Religion Evolved: And Why It EnduresPrimate Social Systems (Studies in Behavioural Adaptation)Evolutionary Psychology: A Beginner's Guide (Beginner's Guides)How Many Friends Does One Person Need? Dunbar's Number and Other Evolutionary QuirksGrooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of LanguageEvolution: What Everyone Needs to KnowHuman Evolution: Our Brains and BehaviorThe Science of Love and BetrayalHuman EvolutionGoogle Scholar PageResearchGate Publications

In 2022 we were talking with 2 of the great coaches we have interviewed over a coffee, Eddie Jones and Neil Craig, as we got up to leave they challenged with an idea; so many sports coaches have models to illustrate what they think high performing teams do, why not compare them against what the coaches you are interviewing are saying? It was an interesting idea that stayed with me afterwards and in early 2023 I found some time to do this. I looked at models from Coaches, Academics and Consultants. I printed them off and laid them out on a table and started to compare them against the insight database that we have built up. That database has 1500 one to two minute videos from the coaches and is coded into buckets like culture, communication and mental skills. You can find it here: https://thegreatcoachespodcast.com/individual-insights/ The model that I thought best reflected the messages I was hearing from the Great Coaches , was the Thriving Teams model developed by the consultancy Thompson Harrison in conjunction with Oxford professor Robin Dunbar. Their model builds from the idea that organisation only thrive when people do. And they identify six dimensions that enable this; Belonging, Purpose, Connection, Culture, Values and Learning. In this podcast I will talk about their model and use audio from the Great Coaches to bring it to life.If you would like to know more about Thriving Teams you can find the information here: https://thegreatcoachespodcast.com/thriving-teams/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They say home is where the heart is, but what if too many hearts are left without a home? In a riveting dialogue with Zach Churchill, Opposition leader and MLA for Yarmouth, the boys dive deep into the complex world of homelessness and the urgent cry for affordable housing. As the fabric of Nova Scotia's societal needs unfolds, Churchill sheds light on the intricate dance between the high cost of living, the scarcity of government support, and the vital role of emergency shelters. This conversation doesn't just stay within the borders of Nova Scotia; it ripples out to challenge how we view the social determinants of health and the power of political will to foster change. Wrapping up the episode, the boys take a sharp turn, drawing on Robin Dunbar's eye-opening study from Oxford University. Boys night and brewski's are not only for the boys, but it's for your health! The fellas unpack the science behind laughter, endorphins, and the undeniable bond of friendship. It's clear that sometimes, the best medicine doesn't always come in a bottle, but sometimes it does. A bottle full of hops and bubbles. (But remember, sodie-pops are just as acceptable.) Whether it's a debate on affordable housing or the underestimated power of a pint with pals, this episode is an invitation to reconsider what truly makes a community thrive.Follow Sickboy on Instagram, TikTok & Discord!

They say home is where the heart is, but what if too many hearts are left without a home? In a riveting dialogue with Zach Churchill, Opposition leader and MLA for Yarmouth, the boys dive deep into the complex world of homelessness and the urgent cry for affordable housing. As the fabric of Nova Scotia's societal needs unfolds, Churchill sheds light on the intricate dance between the high cost of living, the scarcity of government support, and the vital role of emergency shelters. This conversation doesn't just stay within the borders of Nova Scotia; it ripples out to challenge how we view the social determinants of health and the power of political will to foster change. Wrapping up the episode, the boys take a sharp turn, drawing on Robin Dunbar's eye-opening study from Oxford University. Boys night and brewski's are not only for the boys, but it's for your health! The fellas unpack the science behind laughter, endorphins, and the undeniable bond of friendship. It's clear that sometimes, the best medicine doesn't always come in a bottle, but sometimes it does. A bottle full of hops and bubbles. (But remember, sodie-pops are just as acceptable.) Whether it's a debate on affordable housing or the underestimated power of a pint with pals, this episode is an invitation to reconsider what truly makes a community thrive.Follow Sickboy on Instagram, TikTok & Discord!

His latest book looks back at a friendship -- and at a world gone by. Ramachandra Guha joins Amit Varma in episode 371 of The Seen and the Unseen to shoot the breeze and share some memories. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Ramachandra Guha on Amazon, Twitter and his own website. 2. The Cooking of Books: A Literary Memoir -- Ramachandra Guha. 3. Ram Guha Reflects on His Life -- Episode 266 of The Seen and the Unseen. 4. A Cricket Tragic Celebrates the Game — Episode 201 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha). 5. Taking Stock of Our Republic — Episode 157 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha). 6. Understanding Gandhi. Part 1: Mohandas — Episode 104 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha). 7. Understanding Gandhi. Part 2: Mahatma — Episode 105 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha). 8. Savaging the Civilized: Verrier Elwin, His Tribals and India -- Ramachandra Guha. 9. Gandhi before India -- Ramachandra Guha. 10. Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World -- Ramachandra Guha. 11. India After Gandhi -- Ramachandra Guha. 12. Environmentalism: A Global History -- Ramachandra Guha. 13. A Corner of a Foreign Field -- Ramachandra Guha. 14. The New India Foundation. 15. Stet: An Editor's Life -- Diana Athill. 16. Of Gifted Voice: The Life and Art of MS Subbulakshmi — Keshav Desiraju. 17. Dunbar's number. 18. How Many Friends Does One Person Need? -- Robin Dunbar. 19. India Moving — Chinmay Tumbe. 20. India = Migration — Episode 128 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Chinmay Tumbe). 21. Trapped Inside the Infinite Scroll -- Amit Varma. 22. India vs West Indies, 1st Test, Bengaluru, November 22 - 27, 1974. 23. The Life and Times of Montek Singh Ahluwalia — Episode 285 of The Seen and the Unseen. 24. The Life and Times of KP Krishnan — Episode 355 of The Seen and the Unseen. 25. The Reformers -- Episode 28 of Everything is Everything. 26. Pundits from Pakistan -- Rahul Bhattacharya. 27. Fixing the Knowledge Society -- Episode 24 of Everything is Everything. 28. Where Are The Conservative Intellectuals in India (2015) -- Ramachandra Guha. 29. Beethoven Among the Cows -- Rukun Advani. 30. Sharafat Hussain Khan, Latafat Hussain Khan, Lalith Rao, Radhika Mohan Maitra and Buddhadev Das Gupta. Amit's newsletter is explosively active again. Subscribe right away to The India Uncut Newsletter! It's free! Amit Varma and Ajay Shah have launched a new video podcast. Check out Everything is Everything on YouTube. Check out Amit's online course, The Art of Clear Writing. Episode art: ‘Letter' by Simahina.

In this episode we look at Robin Dunbar's particular thesis that religion is not just an unexpected outcome of evolution but is, in fact, a mode of engaging with the world that confers substantial benefits on its adherents. We look at the importance of group bonding and the important role that religion plays in this. We talk about why religion is the most effective mode of bonding people in large groups, paying special attention to the role that endorphin release plays in this. Indeed, the emotional background to religion raises interesting questions about the futility of arguing about religious beliefs or trying to reason against religious belief. A big consequence of Dunbar's reading is that one is religious, not for reasons, but because of the emotional pull that religion has over people. Finally, we discuss the role of religion in our increasingly secular societies. If religion is as important to group bonding as Dunbar would argue, then what does this mean for the decline of religion that we are witnessing across the Western world? We discuss all this, and more, in our thought-provoking interview with Robin Dunbar.

In this episode, Dan chats with one of the authors of The Social Brain - The Psychology of Successful Groups, Samantha Rockey.  Samantha is an Associate Fellow at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and is a tutor and faculty on the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme – one of the leading open leadership development programs in the world. Samantha's work on leadership development has won awards and has been written up in a number of books and publications. She is a frequent speaker on the topic of designing human-shaped organisations and is particularly interested in the interface between the forces of global connectivity, digital transformation and positive social impact and what this means for leadership. She is co-author with Professor Robin Dunbar (‘the Dunbar number') and Tracey Camilleri, of 'The Social Brain: The Psychology of Successful Groups'. You can find our more about the book and Samantha at: https://www.thesocialbrainbook.com/ https://www.thompsonharrison.com/ Don't forget to like, comment, share & subscribe to the podcast!  If you'd like to leave us a question for an upcoming Q&A episode, or you'd like to learn more about our work head over to: https://habitsofleadership.com/

Robin Dunbar is a professor, an evolutionary psychologist, and the author of many books, including "Friends: Understanding the Power of Our Most Important Relationships." During our conversation, Robin talks about how and why he became interested in evolutionary psychology, what evolutionary psychology is, and its explanatory power.He also talks about human social dynamics, and our "circles of friendship." These concentric circles include the universal findings of how, on average, human numerically structure their social lives: intimate friends (1.5), close friends (5), best friends (15), good friends (50), friends (150), acquaintances (500), and known names (1,500). "Dunbar's number" of 150 is really just one of these tiers.Finally, Robin discusses why humans have friends, the "seven pillars of friendship," how people vet others for their appropriate tier early in friendship, and the loneliness people often experience when their "inner circles" are not robust and strong. The health and endorphin benefits of real friends, Robin notes, is often better than any therapy or medicine, and is free to all. I loved talking to this fascinating, friendly, and funny scholar, and hope to have him back on the show not too far down the road.------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------Rate on SpotifyRate on Apple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------00:00 Intro02:51 Why evolutionary psychology? 07:16 Rethinking evolutionary arguments to benefit genes. 15:43 Humanities are actually proper sciences applying evidence. 18:32 Evolution shapes behavior, but brain allows freedom. 26:07 Social groups crucial for primate survival. 29:47 Close friendships crucial for psychological and physical health. 37:16 Research found commonalities in social media posting. 42:27 Club membership based on beer, social interaction. 48:18 In hunter-gatherer societies, 150 descendants are common. 54:40 Friends book explores universal categories for human friendships. 58:41 Close friends can help you live longer.01:01:39 Building friendships

Discover the truth about friendships in the digital age on the Habit Coach Podcast! Ashdin Doctor explores anthropologist Robin Dunbar's theory on the limits of human connections and how our definition of friendship has evolved. Learn the importance of being selective with the term "friend" and how it impacts the quality of your relationships and life. You can watch the full video episodes of The Habit Coach-Awesome 180 on the YouTube channel. You can also check out Ashdin's Linktree Page here: (https://linktr.ee/awesome180 ) You can follow Ashdin Doctor on Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook Check out the Awesome180 website: (http://awesome180.com/ ) Find the show across audio streaming apps:Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | JioSaavn |  Amazon Music Do follow IVM Podcasts on social media.We are @‌ivmpodcasts on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in Chapter 101 of ‘3 Books' we had a magical, eve-of-‘Everything-Everywhere-All-At-Once'-coming-out moment-in-time conversation with creative super-geniuses Daniels — who are Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. We were discussing the fascinating book 'Sex At Dawn' and our conversation led to discussing Dunbar's Number.   Dunbar's Number! Have you heard of Dunbar's Number? It's 150! That's the cognitive limit on the number of social relationships we can have. We, as in humans. Limit, as in our brains can't handle any more. The number was coined, of course, by Oxford Emeritus Professor, Anthropologist, Evolutionary Psychologist, and General All-Round Super-Genius Robin, yes you guessed it, Dunbar. “There are only eight people with numbers named after them,” Robin says, with a grin. “And the other seven people are dead.” (Shoutout to Avogadro!)   Now: 150 is one in a series of numbers. More intimately: We have 15 ‘shoulders to cry on friends', those who'd drop everything to help us or for whom we'd drop everything to help. And our cognitively limited brains can handle 500 ‘acquaintances' and even 5000 ‘total faces.' But 150? That's the limit for ‘friends'. No wonder 150 is the average wedding size, it's the average number of total people who 'see your Christmas card', and it's even the average size of 8000-year-old Middle East villages and 1000-year-old English countryside villages.   Once you start seeing this number — it's hard to stop. But: Why is it important? Well, because friendships, the trust between all of us, it's … at an all-time low. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy (our guest in Chapter 66!) has declared a ‘loneliness' epidemic with 1 in 2 adults feeling alone now — higher than ever before in history. (Doesn't sound too bad till you realize loneliness is worse for our health than smoking 15 cigarettes a day!) Meanwhile, the Harvard Adult Development Study, the longest study ever on happiness, says that friendship and community is the number one source of happiness.   So enter: Robin Dunbar! Wise, cheery, and ever-eloquent, he's got a massive mind capable of distilling more than five decades of scientific work — and 16 published books including ‘How Religion Evolved', ‘How Many Friends Does One Person Need?', and ‘Friends' — into simple observations, prophecies, and advice on how we can all live richer, more fulfilling lives.   I found this an astoundingly nutritious conversation and we talk about: how to raise children, what HR departments *should* be doing, what you're doing wrong when you go to the gym, why religion ‘dies during times of peace and revives during times of war', the death and finding of our deep community, Robin's 3 most formative books, and much, much, *much* more...   Let's flip the page into Chapter 132...   Watch now at https://youtu.be/eaHd90bKldw or listen at 3books.co/chapters/132   ---   Leave us a voicemail. Your message may be included in a future chapter: 1-833-READ-A-LOT.   Sign up to receive podcast updates here: https://www.3books.co/3mail   3 Books is a completely insane and totally epic 22-year-long quest to uncover and discuss the 1000 most formative books in the world. Each chapter discusses the 3 most formative books of an inspiring person. Sample guests include: Brené Brown, David Sedaris, Malcolm Gladwell, George Saunders, Angie Thomas, Daniels, Cheryl Strayed, Rich Roll, Soyoung the Variety Store Owner, Derek the Hype Man, Kevin the Bookseller, Vishwas the Uber Driver, Roxane Gay, David Mitchell, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Mark Manson, Seth Godin, Judy Blume, and Quentin Tarantino. 3 Books is published on the lunar calendar with each of the 333 chapters dropped on the exact minute of every single full moon all the way up to April 26, 2040. 3 Books is an Apple "Best Of" award-winning show and is 100% non-profit with no ads, no sponsors, no commercials, and no interruptions. 3 Books has 3 clubs including the End of the Podcast Club, the Cover to Cover Club, and the Secret Club, which operates entirely through the mail and is only accessible by calling 1-833-READ-A-LOT. Each chapter is hosted by Neil Pasricha, New York Times bestselling author of 'The Happiness Equation', 'Two-Minute Mornings', and 'The Book of Awesome.' For more info check out: https://www.3books.co

Hör även om den israeliska psykedeliska trancemusikkulturen; om nya liberalare vindar kring den polska aborträtten och om hur bra religion är för din hälsa, utifrån vetenskapen. Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radio Play. Ikväll bjuder svenska kyrkans ärkebiskop in till en nationell fredsgudstjänst i Uppsala Domkyrka, är det helt okontroversiellt att bejaka freden idag? Hör ärkebiskop Martin Modéus.Kriget mellan Hamas och Israel engagerar många i Sverige och det har bland annat lett till en diskussion mellan olika kristna profiler och debattörer. Vi talar med Frida Park, opinionsredaktör på den kristna tidningen Dagen.I Israel har en speciell form av New Age inom judendomen vuxit fram, en andlig rörelse som också kopplas ihop med intresset för psykedeliska preparat. Nyligen fick den här rörelsen en tragisk uppmärksamhet när musikfestivalen Nova inleddes i Negevöknen i Israel den 6 oktober. Vi talar med Mayan Shenker Brownstein, dokumentärfilmaren Roee Finzi och religionsvetaren Nathalie Lantz.Varför är vi människor religiösa och finns det hälsomässiga fördelar av att vara religiös? De här frågorna har fascinerat evolutionspsykologen Robin Dunbar. Hans bok ”Om religionernas uppkomst” gavs nyligen ut på svenska.programledare: Åsa Furuhagenreportrar: Nathalie Rothschild och Ebba Sörhagproducent: Anders Diamant

Chris Williamson is an English podcaster and YouTuber. Since 2018 he has hosted the Modern Wisdom podcast which has been downloaded over 200 million times. He discusses current events, politics, philosophy, science and hobbies with a variety of guests including Jordan Peterson, Steven Pinker, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Will MacAskill, Robin Dunbar, Michael Malice, Sam Harris, Eric Weinstein, and Patrick Moore. SPONSORED BY: AG1. Go to https://www.drinkAG1.com/triggernometry/ to get 5 free AG1 Travel Packs and a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D with your first purchase! Become a Premium Member to receive exclusive benefits https://triggernometry.supercast.com/ OR Support TRIGGERnometry Here: Bitcoin: bc1qm6vvhduc6s3rvy8u76sllmrfpynfv94qw8p8d5 Music by: Music by: Xentric | info@xentricapc.com | https://www.xentricapc.com/ YouTube:  @xentricapc   Buy Merch Here: https://www.triggerpod.co.uk/shop/ Advertise on TRIGGERnometry: marketing@triggerpod.co.uk Join the Mailing List: https://www.triggerpod.co.uk/sign-up/ Find TRIGGERnometry on Social Media:  https://twitter.com/triggerpod https://www.facebook.com/triggerpod/ https://www.instagram.com/triggerpod/ About TRIGGERnometry:  Stand-up comedians Konstantin Kisin (@konstantinkisin) and Francis Foster (@francisjfoster) make sense of politics, economics, free speech, AI, drug policy and WW3 with the help of presidential advisors, renowned economists, award-winning journalists, controversial writers, leading scientists and notorious comedians.

Robin Dunbar is an Oxford evolutionary psychologist who has written extensively about friendship, amongst other things, not least in relation to “Dunbar's Number”.We talked about what friendship is, and how it differs from other loves. We explored the varieties of friendship that people experience, and why metaphors such as “circles of friends” are so significant.Numbers are illuminating when it comes to understanding the dynamics of friendship, not only Dunbar's Number, but also other threshold numbers – 5, 15, 50, 150, 500. Get those group sizes right, and much will be gained.We also asked about why social media seems to corrosive to friendship, how notions of friendship do and don't vary across cultures, why gender differences in attitudes to friendship seem so robust, and whether we need rituals of friendship to guide this most important of relationships.Robin referenced the seven pillars of friendship. These are language or dialect, geography, educational experiences, hobbies and interests, moral or spiritual viewpoints, political views, sense of humour and taste in music.

In a live episode recorded at The Bullingdon as part of IF Oxford, Rosie chats to anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar and author Max Dickins about friendship - why why we need friends, how many friends we can have, friendship breakups, the ambiguous language of friendship, the When Harry Met Sally (or when Sally met Sally) question, Jane Austen's observations on relationships, whether a close romantic friendship could ever count as ‘cheating', the differences between (straight) male and female friendships and the experience of people with identities beyond those binaries.  Recorded at The Bullingdon as part of IF Oxford on 17 October 2023. You can now follow The Breakup Monologues on Instagram and Threads @breakupmonologues and buy The Breakup Monologues book from all good bookshops: https://linktr.ee/breakupmonologues The Breakup Monologues will also be recording live episodes at Margate Bookie on 22 October and Cheerful Earful Podcast Festival in London on 4 November:    https://www.dreamland.co.uk/event/live-podcast-the-breakup-monologues/   https://www.streathamspaceproject.co.uk/whats-on-calendar/cheerfulearful-4nov23 Robin's book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Friends-Understanding-Power-Important-Relationships/dp/0349143579/   Max's book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1838853545/

The author Max Dickins was preparing to propose to his girlfriend when he came to a realisation: he didn't have anyone he felt he could ask to be his best man. It prompted him to write the book ‘Billy No-Mates', looking at why he didn't have any close male friends any more, and asking if men, in general, have a friendship problem. In a special discussion in front of a live audience at the Cheltenham Science Festival in England, Claudia Hammond speaks to Max about his journey. They're also joined by Robin Dunbar, a Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Oxford University who's spent decades researching friendships in humans and other primates, and Radha Modgil, a practicing GP and wellbeing expert whose book ‘Know Your Own Power' looks at what advice there is for people facing difficulties as they go through life. The panel look at what psychology can teach us about friendships between men, the difference these relationships can make to our mental health, and the best way of both maintaining the friendships we have and finding ways to make new friends. Produced in partnership with the Open University. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Dan Welsh

In this week's episode, we're breaking down the meaning of friendship. It might seem like a light and fluffy subject on the surface, but as with all of our topics, this subject manages to go much deeper than you might expect. We are social creatures. No matter how independent you think you might be, connectivity with others -- especially having quality friends -- is wildly important. Friendship is more than a quick fix for your desire to socialize. It's a necessary experience that's embedded within us as humans. The wrong friends can literally have a harmful impact on your DNA. But what about the right friends? What even is a good friend? How many friends can you feasibly have? How do you choose who's in you inner circle and who isn't? Quality friendships have impacts on our social, emotional and even physical health. In fact, your ability to survive a heart attack depends more on the quality of your friendships than smoking 20 cigarettes a day. Friendship is a special kind of connection that deserves your time and energy, but many of us simply don't know how to create or nurture those connections -- or how to break up with the friends who no longer fit in our lives. P.S. RATE US 5 STARS PLEASE! IT HELPS SO MUCH! Additional Resources:Clairannoyance InstagramClairannoyance TikTokClairannoyance WebsiteMegan's InstagramMegan's TikTokMegan's WebsiteRyan's InstagramRyan's TikTokRyan's Website

一早醒來，見到好多個群組都說，馮睎乾的十三維度 Facebook Page 被消失了；但再過了一陣子，又聽聞回復了正常。馮睎乾的文章，很多我都會用心由頭到尾讀完，而且是讀完之後會覺得有所得著的。作為一個忠實讀者，假如他的 Page 的消失，當然會感到可惜，但不會很意外。畢竟，網軍「一人一投訴」的飽和式攻擊很可怕，更可怕是「一人一投訴」根本不用很多人。Facebook 本身也是神經兮兮，經常出現難以解釋的故障，所以應該見怪不怪。有些經營 Facebook Page 的朋友為了保險，會開幾個後備的；但後備的 Page 容易造成訊息混亂，讓假冒的 Page 有機可乘。另外，有些朋友被 Facebook 禁言的時候，就索性當悠長假期，乾等七天，三十天。但解禁後往往又再被禁，派送率也被壓抑。幸好，我未有那種影響力的級數，所以未被惹來禁言之禍。但又有誰知道何年何月何日最終還是輪到自己被禁言？早兩年其實我已經在想，究竟應該怎樣去避免被滅聲？應該建立自己的網站嗎？Patreon？Substack？YouTube？有一段時間我的想法是：盡量試多點不同的平台，每個讀者、觀眾，都可以有不只一個方法找到我寫的文章、Podcast 錄音和影片。去中心化與網絡效應過去兩年，越來越多人在講去中心化 。之前在 YouTube Live，不論我講甚麼題目，總有個觀眾不斷地留同一句說話說：「去中心化是唯一出路。」去中心化究竟是甚麼一回事？很多人只是人云亦云趁熱鬧，甚麼區塊鏈加密貨幣 NFT 的，統統都當作救世黑科技。其實互聯網最元祖的設計，就是沒有 kill switch ，本身就是去中心化 【1】。當互聯網上失去了一些連接點，網絡餘下的其他部分，理論上仍然可以繼續運作。沒有人可以關掉整個互聯網，想控制的話，亦不容易；儘其量亦只可以是像某神奇國度那樣，將自己的一部份圍封起來，然後對外循環就不斷製造混亂。但是亦可能有人會話：「雖然國家控制不了互聯網，但 Google、Facebook 等不就是操控了資訊流動？」我們將自己可以見到、聽到甚麼的決定，交予 Google 和 Facebook ，背後是有原因的。不單是因為我們懶，更重要的問題，這些資訊大台比我們自己更清楚，想要的資訊是甚麼。為甚麼這些資訊大台如此厲害？為甚麼會有資訊大台的出現？網絡效應又是甚麼一回事？首先，請容許我用少少時間，解釋網絡是甚麼。在一個網絡裡面，有點，以及點與點之間的連線。最基本的網絡，有三個點；但三個點的網絡，基本上只有一種模式，就是一個三角形。當多過三個點以上，網絡的模式才開始出現變化。數學上，一個極端的模式，就是「定於一尊式」的中心化。在一個有 n 個點的網絡，完全中心化之下，連繫的數目是 (n-1) 。四個點的網絡，就是一個中心，三個終端，三條連線。但假如是「去中心化」的形態，四個點，四個角，一共有六條連線。在一個有 n 個點的網絡，而每個點與點之間都有獨立的單線連繫，總共要有 n*(n-1)/2 條連線。中心化和去中心化，網友連線的數目比例最大是 n/2 倍；點的數目越多，乘數效應也越大。用互聯網為例，現時估計全球有 50 億網民，完全絕對地去中心化，每個網民之間就約1.25*10^19 有那麼多條連線。完全地去中心化，從成本效益的角度考慮，是不切實際的；而一定程度上的中心化，優點是效率。現實當中，極少有完全的中心化的網絡，因為對中心的負荷太大，處理不了那麼多的關係。亦很少有完全的去中心化的網絡，因為效率實在太低。絕大多數的網絡，包括互聯網、交通運輸網絡、甚至經濟上的供應鏈、自然界的食物鏈以至動植物體內的輸送系統、都是一層又一層的樹狀的網絡所組成；不同的層次會出現一些樞紐，然後這些樞紐又有自己的網絡，最終匯流到主幹。每個網絡中，都有些點的連結數目多，亦有些點的位置更接近核心，這些都是網絡上相對更重要的位置 。像 Facebook 、Google 等資訊網絡大台，就是資訊網絡的樞紐。它們透過聚集人際網絡具影響力的關鍵人物，來建立出一個更龐大的脈絡。Facebook 、Google 等的經濟價值，來自於集散資訊的能力。再重複一次，我們願意將看到甚麼，聽到甚麼的決定交予 Google 和 Facebook ，不只是因為我們懶，而是因為它們在大多數時候，它們掌握的資訊，讓它們比我們自己，更了解真正想要的資訊是甚麼。另一邊廂，網絡大台不但將聲音放大，也將人與人之間的連繫簡化，甚至令我們產生錯覺，以為自己跟很多很多人連繫起來，有很多朋友。但是我們每個人真正能夠有的朋友數目，並不會因為互聯網又或者任何科技有所增加。1990 年代中，社會學家 Robin Dunbar 提出，由於人的腦袋處理能力有限，我們每個人可以維繫的社交關係，最多也就是 150 人左右，這也是所謂的 Dunbar's number。換句話說，網上就算有成千上萬的朋友，但真正跟我們生命有直接關係的人，其實不多。所以，與其去討論去大台，去中心化甚麼的，我們是否應首先想想自己能夠維持的那 150 位親人朋友同事的關係？然後，最多就是想這 150 人可以接觸到的「一度分隔」（one-degree of separation）有些甚麼人？再者，雖然每個人理論上最多能夠維繫的社交關係最多是 150 人，但人與人之連繫有不少是的重複；換句話說，假如生活在最緊密的社群當中， 「一度分隔」的人數，亦可能只有幾百人【2】。而在「一度分隔」以外，已經是太遙遠的距離，是陌生人了。再想深一層，世界上絕大多數人，對我們來講其實都是陌生人，只不過是語言、文化、法律、市場、網絡等各種現象，將眾生連結成一個社會。過去幾年，香港人又何嘗不是失去了蘋果、立場和眾新聞？蘋果算是大台吧，對嗎？但是我們這些專欄作家，不是繼續在發表？我們的讀者和觀眾甚至乎比過去更多。說到底，人與人的關係，根本不是在網上，而是在我們每個人的認知和記憶當中。【1】在工程設計中，kill switch 是安全功能，在緊急情況下迅速停止或斷開某個系統或應用程序的運行。但應用在社會和公共政策中，kill switch 往往是被濫用的。【2】假如是金字塔式般的層級型人際關係網，「一度分隔」的人數最多也只不過兩萬多；但這種金字塔式的關係，除了是老千的層壓式銷售，就很少見到。 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit leesimon.substack.com/subscribe

The author Max Dickins was preparing to propose to his girlfriend when he came to a realisation: he didn't have anyone he felt he could ask to be his best man. It prompted him to write the book ‘Billy No-Mates', looking at why he didn't have any close male friends any more, and asking if men, in general, have a friendship problem. In a special discussion in front of a live audience at the Cheltenham Science Festival in England, Claudia Hammond speaks to Max about his journey. They're also joined by Robin Dunbar, a Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Oxford University who's spent decades researching friendships in humans and other primates, and Radha Modgil, a practicing GP and wellbeing expert whose book ‘Know Your Own Power' looks at what advice there is for people facing difficulties as they go through life. The panel look at what psychology can teach us about friendships between men, the difference these relationships can make to our mental health, and the best way of both maintaining the friendships we have and finding ways to make new friends. Produced in partnership with the Open University. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Dan Welsh

Hi friends, we will be on hiatus for the fall. To tide you over, we're putting up some favorite episodes from our archives. You may not be surprised to hear that the paper featured in this archive pick attracted a lot of attention. In the time since we first aired this episode, it prompted at least one direct critique, which then occasioned a reply by the authors.   Enjoy! ———  You have a big brain. I have a big brain. We, as a species, have pretty big brains. But this wasn't always the case. Way back when, our brains were much smaller; then they went through a bit of growth spurt, one that lasted for a couple million years. This steady ballooning of brain size is one of the key themes of the human story. But then there's a late-breaking twist in that story—a kind of unexpected epilogue. You see, after our brains grew, they shrank. But when this shrinkage happened and—of course, why—have remained mysterious.  My guest today is Jeremy DeSilva, a paleoanthropologist at Dartmouth College. He's an expert on the evolution of the foot and ankle. But, it turns out the body is all connected, so he also thinks about brains and heads. In a recent paper, Jerry and his colleagues took up the mystery of human brain shrinkage. They first set out to establish more precisely when in our past this occurred. Using a large database of crania, spanning few million years, Jerry's team was able to establish that this shrinkage event happened much more recently than previously thought—a mere 3000 years ago. Naturally, the next question was why? What happened around that time that could have possibly caused our brains to deflate? To answer this, Jerry and his collaborators turned to an unexpected source of insight: Ants. That's right, ants. They argue that these ultrasocial critters may offer clues to why we might have suddenly dispensed with a chunk of brain about the size of a lemon.  This is a really juicy paper and a super fun conversation, so we should just get to it. But I did want to mention: Jerry has a recent book from 2021 called First Steps that I whole-heartedly recommend. It's about origins of upright walking in humans—which it turns out, is bound up with all kinds of other important aspects of being human. So definitely check that out! Thanks folks—on to my chat with Dr. Jerry DeSilva. Enjoy!   The paper we discuss is available here. A transcript of this episode is available here.   Notes and links 3:00 ­– A podcast episode from the Leakey Foundation about the so-called “obstetrical dilemma.” 5:40 – A refresher for those who have trouble keeping their ‘cenes' straight: the Pleistocene refers to the period from 2.58 million years ago to 11,700 years ago; immediately after that came the Holocene, which we are still in today. 7:00 – An article discussing the issue of unethical collections of human remains. 10:30 – The key figure form Dr. DeSilva's paper—showing the changing “slopes” of brain size over time—is available here. 19:30 – The original article by Leslie Aiello and Peter Wheeler on the “expensive tissue hypothesis.” A more recent popular article on the hypothesis. 20:45 – An article by a major proponent of the social intelligence hypothesis, Dr. Robin Dunbar. A more critical review of the social intelligence hypothesis. 23:00 – A recent paper by Jeff Stibel and an older preprint by John Hawks evaluating the “body size” explanation of recent brain shrinkage.   24:00 – See our earlier episode on human self-domestication with Brian Hare.   29:00 – One of Dr. DeSilva's collaborators on this research is Dr. James Traniello, who specializes in ants. 34:45 – An overview of the earliest history of writing. 37:20 – Dr. DeSilva's book, First Steps, came out in 2021. 39:00 – A recent paper discussing the evolution of rotational birth in humans. Dr. DeSilva recommends: Kindred, by Rebecca Wragg Sykes (featured in an earlier episode!) Origin, by Jennifer Raff   You can find Dr. DeSilva on Twitter.   Many Minds is a project of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute (DISI) (https://disi.org), which is made possible by a generous grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation to UCLA. It is hosted and produced by Kensy Cooperrider, with help from Assistant Producer Urte Laukaityte and with creative support from DISI Directors Erica Cartmill and Jacob Foster. Our artwork is by Ben Oldroyd (https://www.mayhilldesigns.co.uk/). Our transcripts are created by Sarah Dopierala (https://sarahdopierala.wordpress.com/). You can subscribe to Many Minds on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Play, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. **You can now subscribe to the Many Minds newsletter here!** We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Feel free to email us at: manymindspodcast@gmail.com. For updates about the show, visit our website (https://disi.org/manyminds/), or follow us on Twitter: @ManyMindsPod.

Judith Donath is a design thinker for some of the most important theory for how people interact in online spaces, drawing on evolutionary biology, architecture, ethnography, cognitive science. She just might be the voice we need for the multi-media multiscale world we're walking into. Origins Podcast WebsiteFlourishing Commons NewsletterShow Notes:Tsundoku (09:00)The cost of honesty (09:30)theory of mind, MIT Media Lab, and Marvin Minsky (13:00)Roger Schank (13:30)cultural metaphors (14:00)Ocean Vuong (17:15)The Architecture Machine by Nicholas Negroponte (19:30)Bell Labs (20:15)Vienna Circle (20:20)Sociable Media Group (22:40)The Social Machine by Judith Donath (23:05)Fernanda Viégas (35:20)Chat Circles (35:30)Gossip, Grooming, and the Evolution of Language by Robin Dunbar (39:00)The Strength of Weak Ties by Mark Granovetter (43:20)Berkman Klein Center (47:00)Signalling Theory (49:00)Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey (56:00)The Experimental Novel by Émile Zola (59:00)C Thi Nguyen Origins (59:20)Lightning Round (01:00:30)Book: The Lord of the Rings by JRR TolkienPassion: Crossfit's way of thinking about metricsHeart sing: Street photographyTeju ColeScrewed up: Traditional academiaFind Judith online:Website'Five-Cut Fridays' five-song music playlist series  Judith's playlistFlourishing SalonsLearning Salon AIArtwork Cristina GonzalezMusic swelo

In the dynamic realm of lithium mining, leaders like Robin Dunbar of Grid Metals, Jeffrey Wilson of Eureka Lithium, and Stephen Hanson of ACME Lithium stand out. Grid Metals, situated in southeastern Manitoba's Bird River greenstone belt, controls prized high-grade lithium pegmatites at Donner Lake and Falcon West, with a strategic advantage given their closeness to the Tanco mine, one of Canada's two lithium producers. Their journey doesn't end with lithium; their Ni-Cu-PGM-Co project, Makwa-Mayville, is also generating significant interest. Eureka Lithium, on the other hand, stands as a dominant force in Quebec's Nunavik region. They hold vast projects in emerging areas like Raglan West, Raglan South, and New Leaf Lithium Camps, and have ties to the illustrious prospector Shawn Ryan. The territory they oversee is mineral-rich, housing two active nickel mines with invaluable deep-sea port access. Meanwhile, ACME Lithium, backed by a team of industry veterans, is laser-focused on exploring and developing battery metal projects. Their expansive interests range from Nevada's Clayton Valley and Fish Lake Valley to sites in southeastern Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan. Join us for a deep dive into the innovative endeavors, hurdles, and openings these trailblazers navigate in the fast-evolving lithium sector. Subscribe for a deeper look into the multifaceted world of mining!

Linktr.ee@michaelj.morganSTTT.USMERCHHHExploring Creativity PodcastFriends by Robin Dunbar

With 23+ years of friendship experience, Emma & Madi discuss the importance of female friendship, ways to stay close with long distance friends, Robin Dunbar's friendship number, & more!Follow us! @hyggegirlspodcast on Instagram & TikTokPersonal accounts: @madi_bares @emmaaroof NEW every Monday!Interested in working together? hyggegirlspodcast@gmail.com We're always looking for guests + sponsors!*Produced by Hygge Girls™. All rights reserved.

Robin Dunbar is an anthropologist, evolutionary psychologist, head of the Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group at the University of Oxford and an author. Most animals need friends to survive. But no other animal has as layered and complex a social life as humans. The last 2 million years from trees to plains to apartments has caused huge changes to the setup of our social groups, and it's a fascinating story. Expect to learn why any group size over 90 ends up with more people being killed than being born, why men don't have a best friend forever but women do, the link between human brain size and social groups, how male and female friendships differ, why the modern world has the most loneliness ever, what the single largest impact on your health is and much more... Sponsors: Get 10% discount on all Gymshark's products at https://bit.ly/sharkwisdom (use code: MW10) Get $100 discount on the best water filter on earth from AquaTru at https://bit.ly/drinkwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get 20% discount on all Keto Brainz products at https://ketobrainz.com/modernwisdom (use code: MW20) and follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ketobrainz/ Extra Stuff: Buy The Social Brain - https://amzn.to/41YvOt9  Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/ 

Kat‘s website: https://www.katvellos.comKat's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katvellos_authorRobin Dunbar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Dunbar

Esta es una gran pregunta ¿cuándo es momento de terminar una amistad? y ¿realmente vale la pena mantenerla? Hoy lo revisamos. ¿Sabían ustedes qué en la vida tenemos aproximadamente cinco amigos cercanos, 15 mejores amigos, 50 buenos amigos y 150 amigos? Esto según el antropólogo y psicólogo Robin Dunbar creador de la teoría del número Dunbar sobre la cantidad de amistades. • Hoy vamos a platicar lo que de acuerdo a expertos, necesitamos para identificar cuándo es momento de terminar una amistad.

Are there forces at work that might impact the way work feels? Could we use those forces to make work better?This discussion with Robin Dunbar and Tracey Camilleri took me to places I hadn't expected to go. That hormones, our brains and time would play a part in the relationships we forge at work isn't something that you would expect to find in a company's culture document, but as you'll hear today they forge a vital component of better team work.Hormones are triggered by emotional interactions with other humans. Uniquely they only tend to work face-to-face. Hormones can help us build affinity with others in a powerful way that is often overlooked.Brain-size impacts the connections we have with those people. At the core of human experience is our closest one (or two) relationships. There's a small circle of 4 or 5 people who sit at the heart of our lives, and up to 15 who make up the majority of our time.And that time is critical for the strength of those connections. We spent 40% of our time with our 5 closest relationships, and 60% with the top 15. By spending time we can become close friends with people in our lives.The Social Brain by Tracey Camilleri, Samantha Rockey and Robin Dunbar is out now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Friendship might not necessarily be something you've considered to be an urgent psychological and physiological issue. One thing we explore a lot on the show is that the quality of your relationships determines the quality of your life, and sadly, in many ways, it's harder than ever to make and keep friends. With loneliness and disconnection on the rise, our society just wasn't constructed for social connection, and recent data suggests we're in a friendship crisis, with many of us reporting that we have fewer close friendships than ever.Our guest today is Robin Dunbar, an Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Oxford University and the author of numerous books on the development of homo sapiens. Dunbar is perhaps best known for formulating “Dunbar's number,” which is a measurement of the number of relationships our brain is capable of maintaining at any one time. He is a world-renowned expert on human relationships, and has a ton of fascinating research findings and practical tips for upping your friendship game.In this conversation, we dive into the science behind human relationships, the upsides and downsides of maintaining friendships on social media, the viability of friendships across gender lines, and what science says you can do to compensate if you feel you are currently lacking in close friendships. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/robin-dunbar-372-rerunSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.