Friends

The average number of meaningful relationships most people have is around 150.  I read this in a column by David Brooks last week.  Brooks took this number from a book by Robin Dunbar entitled, appropriately, Friends.  How many people are invited to the average American wedding?  About 150.  How many people were in early hunter-gatherer communities?  About 150.  

According to Dunbar, there are inner circle friends that you might go to dinner with or maybe invite over to watch the Superbowl.  That number is about 15.  An even closer group would help you emotionally or financially if you were in trouble.  That number is about five.

I don’t stack up all that well.  There were nine people at my first wedding; six at the second.  If I needed a ride to the airport, I’d have to call Uber.  After reading Brooks’s column, I’m somewhat depressed about this lack of friends, and I don’t have anyone to call for emotional support.

I have to get a dog.