Why do men talk and women gossip, and which is better for you? When is it good to be tall and why is monogamy a drain on the brain? And why should you be suspicious of someone who has more than 150 friends on Facebook? We are the product of our evolutionary history, and this history colors our everyday lives - from why we kiss to how religious we are. In "How Many Friends Does One Person Need?" Robin Dunbar explains how the distant past underpins our current behaviour through the groundbreaking experiments that have changed the thinking of evolutionary biologists forever. He explains phenomena such as why "Dunbar's Number" (150) is the maximum number of acquaintances you can have, why all babies are born premature, and the science behind lonely-hearts columns. Stimulating, provocative and highly enjoyable, this fascinating book is essential for understanding why people behave as they do and what it is to be human.
Author
Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar FBA FRAI is a British anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist and a specialist in primate behaviour. Dunbar's academic and research career includes the University of Bristol, University of Cambridge from 1977 until 1982, and University College London from 1987 until 1994. In 1994, Dunbar became Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at University of Liverpool, but he left Liverpool in 2007 to take up the post of Director of the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford.
