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Topic: Robin Dunbar


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In the News (Tue 15 Dec 09)

  
  Dunbar's number - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dunbar's number (also known as the Dunbar number or the Monkeysphere) is a value significant in sociology and anthropology.
Dunbar theorizes that "this limit is a direct function of relative neocortex size, and that this in turn limits group size...
Dunbar proposes furthermore that language may have arisen as a "cheap" means of social grooming, allowing early humans to efficiently maintain social cohesion.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Dunbar's_number   (1028 words)

  
 Robin Dunbar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robin Dunbar is a British anthropologist and evolutionary biologist, specialising in primate behaviour.
He is best known for formulating Dunbar's number.
Dunbar's research areas at the Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioural Ecology Research Group, University of Liverpool
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Robin_Dunbar   (93 words)

  
 Harvard University Press: Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language
Dunbar is a clear thinker and a polymath, marshaling evidence for his thesis from such varied fields as primatology, linguistics, anthropology and genetics.
Dunbar is a psychologist at the University of Liverpool, but his lucid Darwinian forays into the evolution of language draw widely on the fields of anatomy, linguistics, sociology, and anthropology...An enjoyable romp through the past few hundred thousand years.
Robin Dunbar is Professor of Psychology at the University of Liverpool.
www.hup.harvard.edu /catalog/DUNGRO.html?show=reviews   (725 words)

  
 Science Show - 01/11/2003: Religion in the Brain
Professor Robin Dunbar believes that the only substantive difference between humans and apes is religion and that humans developed bigger brains, and therefore our superior cognitive abilities, so that we can encompass religion.
Robyn Williams: Robin Dunbar is Professor Evolutionary Psychology at Liverpool in Britain.
Robin Dunbar: It's very hard to see any obvious reason or circumstance when we need levels for four or five in everyday life.
www.abc.net.au /rn/science/ss/stories/s975524.htm   (948 words)

  
 Co-evolution of neocortex size, group size and language in humans   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-20)
Dunbar, R. Coevolution of neocortical size, group size and language in humans.
Whereas bird flocks can shed individuals through trickle migration as soon as they exceed their optimal size, primate groups cannot: they have to wait until the group is large enough to permit it to fission into two or more daughter groups of a minimum size necessary to ensure the safety and survival of their members.
Dunbar and Duncan (submitted) censussed conversational cliques that formed freely within interacting groups that varied in size from 2-10 individuals.
bbsonline.org /documents/a/00/00/05/65/bbs00000565-00/bbs.dunbar.html   (11018 words)

  
 Group Size, Robin Dunbar, and the Magic of 150
Dunbar's argument is that as brains evolve, they become larger in order to handle the unique complexities of larger social groups.
Dunbar has developed an equation, which works for most primates, in which he plugs in what he calls the neocortex ratio of a particular species - the size of the neocortex relative to the size of the brain - and the equation gives us the maximum expected group size for each species.
Dunbar has gone through anthropological literature and found that the number 150 pops up over and over again.
www.commonsenseadvice.com /human_cortex_dunbar.html   (1032 words)

  
 Book Review
Robin Dunbar is Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Liverpool.
Taking these two measurements together, Dunbar suggests that the latest possible date for the development of at least some form of speech must be about half a million years ago.
Dunbar doubts that there is any good evidence for religion or belief in an after-life among the Neandertals.
www.accampbell.uklinux.net /bookreviews/r/dunbar.html   (1005 words)

  
 Guardian Unlimited | Life | Science to watch people by
Professor Robin Dunbar became a biologist by accident.
Dunbar has worked all his professional life in this area, studying animal and human behaviour in search of the rules that guide us.
Robin Dunbar was born on June 28 1947 in east Africa.
www.guardian.co.uk /life/interview/story/0,12982,955709,00.html   (1434 words)

  
 Reflections on the evolution of language
Their preferred answer to the first of these questions is found in Robin Dunbar’s Social Bonding Hypothesis (or “Gossip Hypothesis”, as they label it), which was introduced in Dunbar 1996.
Dunbar explains that as group size grows, the individual is increasingly surrounded by competitors jockeying for social dominance and superior access to resources.
Dunbar’s answer to this is not an explanation of how the step was accomplished but rather a description of the particular kinds of advantage it might have afforded in that context.
www2.hawaii.edu /~grace/dunbar.html   (1907 words)

  
 Scandals?
And yet none of that particular relationship would seem to be strictly necessary for the further arguments that relate the sizes of social groups to the evolution of language, where the restricting factor is considered to be available time and not a limited neocortex.
In fact, the simple cooperation theory that Dunbar is using is already at the basis of much discourse theory, relevance theory, general pragmatics, network theory and the sociolinguistics of conversation.
Unfortunately, as Dunbar roams around from discipline to discipline, he might himself be seen as a free-rider destined to be excluded by the inner common interests of academic villages.
www.fut.es /~apym/on-line/reviews/dunbar.html   (649 words)

  
 Amazon.com: Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language: Books: Robin Dunbar   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-20)
Dunbar builds his argument in a lively discussion that touches on such varied topics as the behavior of gelada baboons, Darwin's theory of evolution, computer-generated poetry, and the significance of brain size.
Professor Dunbar's thesis is that language evolved as a substitute for physical intimacy (grooming, not sex) as the basis for bonding a social group.
Dunbar's grad students have done studies of overheard conversations and newspaper contents, and generally discover that approximately 2/3 of a human communication is gossip about oneself or others.
www.amazon.com /exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0674363361?v=glance   (2415 words)

  
 Book review of Robin Dunbar   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-20)
The British psychologist Robin Dunbar believes that language was not invented for communication but as a more efficient form of grooming, which in turn functioned to cement society.
Dunbar believes that human speech is simply a more efficient way of "grooming": apes cement social bonds by grooming the members of their group.
Dunbar believes that dialects developed for a similar reason: to rapidly identify members of the same group (it is notoriously difficult to imitate a dialect)
www.thymos.com /mind/dunbar.html   (215 words)

  
 Robin William   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-20)
Barbara Green's claim that Robin Hood was a Yorkshireman and that paranormal phenomena occur at his grave.
Robin Curnow specialises in the sale and servicing of a wide range of outboard motors in Cornwall, UK and throughout the Westcountry.
Robin and Jeff Cookston - The Arizona Extension of the Cookston Clan
robin-william.euuo.net   (1564 words)

  
 Robert Paterson's Radio Weblog
Robin Dunbar is the Science behind Malcolm Gladwell's law of 150.
Here is Dunbar's core essay on why 150 is the core human social number.
Dunbar is scientific in his language but not dull.
radio.weblogs.com /0107127/categories/.../2003/02/22.html   (1694 words)

  
 Harvard University Press: The Trouble with Science
He knows what scientists do, say, and feel in their labs, at their conferences, on their expeditions, and in their relaxed moments, as well as what they and their (often misguided) supporters say when they feel obliged to put on a public performance for the laity.
The general reader will benefit greatly from Dunbar's book because he explains, with vivid examples and historical excursions, what science is, what it does, what it cannot be, and why most of us find science--or even thinking logically--relatively difficult.
Dunbar's unassuming little book provides a contrast, and an antidote to the excesses of social constructivism, mainly through his informed, insightful celebration of science.
www.hup.harvard.edu /catalog/DUNTRX.html?show=reviews   (324 words)

  
 Robin Dunbar Books - Signed, used, new, out-of-print
What Dunbar suggests--and what his research confirms--is that humans developed language to serve the purpose that grooming served, but far more efficiently.
In "The Trouble with Science, Robin Dunbar asks whether science really is unique to Western culture, even to humankind.
Written in 1982, when Dunbar was only 18, Rita, Sue, and Bob Too follows the lives of two feisty schoolgirls on a Bradford estate and their affair with a married man. Out of Joint's actors journey back to the estates around Bradford and Leeds where Andrea Dunbar grew up.
www.alibris.com /search/books/author/Robin_Dunbar   (404 words)

  
 book review: The Human Story (Robin Dunbar)
Robin Dunbar is Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University
Dunbar thinks that their inability to perform at higher levels of
Dunbar doubts that there is any good evidence for religion or belief in
www.groupsrv.com /hobby/about22100.html   (916 words)

  
 Theoretical Primatology Project: Research
Subscribers: TPP invited Robin Dunbar to comment on the status of graduate education in primatology--its rationale, objectives, and goals.
Dr. Dunbar, one of the premier theoreticians in our field, has produced a document worthy of attention.
Robin shows that both domains of investigation are necessary to the processes of observation, hypothesis formation, hypothesis testing, and inference and that crucial quantitative skills are required to reliably and validly ask and answer the veridical questions.
www.robertwilliams.org /tpp/tpp_v2-2supp.html   (1259 words)

  
 An In the Library book
Robin Dunbar's The Trouble With Science examines the sources of contemporary hostility to science, explains how real scientists go about their daily work and how the reality differs from the ideas we have about it, and clarifies why science is still a good thing.
Dunbar examines some of the reasons people find science difficult, alarming, threatening, and inimical, such as fears about runaway technology and worries people have about science's destruction of "spirituality" and emotion.
But Dunbar is convinced of the value of explanation and understanding, and he makes an excellent case for them here.
www.butterfliesandwheels.com /libraryprint.php?id=10   (272 words)

  
 STSC CrossTalk - Building Successful Software Development Teams Using TSP and Effective Communication Networks - ...   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-20)
Dunbar also noted that the larger social network is limited to about 150, which is due to the human capacity to recognize and track personal facts about all members of a group.
Interestingly, Dunbar noted that where groups exceeded the nominal upper bounds, it was typical that roles had evolved, (e.g., sheriff, minister) that permitted people to interact appropriately with the role.
Dunbar, Robin I.M. “Neocortex Size as a Constraint on Group Size in Primates.” Journal of Human Evolution 20 (1992): 469-493.
www.stsc.hill.af.mil /crosstalk/2006/01/0601Nicols.html   (3224 words)

  
 Amazon.ca: Primate Conservation Biology: Books   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-20)
In this book Guy Cowlishaw and Robin Dunbar integrate cutting-edge theoretical advances with practical management priorities to give scientists and policymakers the tools they need to help keep these species from disappearing forever.
Cowlishaw and Dunbar then discuss the factors that put primates at the greatest risk of extinction, especially habitat disturbance and hunting.
The remaining chapters present a comprehensive review of conservation strategies and management practices, highlighting the key issues that must be addressed to protect primates for the future.
www.amazon.ca /exec/obidos/ASIN/0226116360   (468 words)

  
 Robin Dunbar reviews Mapping Human History: Discovering the Past Through our Genes by Steve Olson
Robin Dunbar reviews Mapping Human History: Discovering the Past Through our Genes by Steve Olson
Reviewed by Robin Dunbar, Evolutionary Psychology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK.
Dunbar, R. Review of Mapping Human History: Discovering the Past Through our Genes by Steve Olson.
human-nature.com /nibbs/02/olson.html   (869 words)

  
 Amazon.co.uk: Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language: Books   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-20)
This book is really interesting and gives a fascinating insight into how networking and social 'grooming' (and I don't mean dressing presentably in public!) are not only essential but important for our personal safety and survival...
Despite a tendency to reduce human existence to Machiavellian self-interest and propogation of the species, Dunbar makes some very pertinent points and shows how similar we are in many respects to our primate cousins.
The true value of this book, however, lies in Dunbar's explanation for the evolution of language in our species.
www.amazon.co.uk /exec/obidos/ASIN/0571173977   (662 words)

  
 Amazon.com: Human Evolutionary Psychology: Books: Louise Barrett,Robin Dunbar,John Lycett   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-20)
by Louise Barrett, Robin Dunbar, John Lycett "Why do some women of a certain age opt for plastic surgery in an attempt to preserve their youth?..." (more)
Although Dr. Buss is a strong advocate of the evolutionary approach to human psychology, his treatment of evolutionary theory is rather weak and laymen like giving away his background in psychology rather than biology.
Dunbar is a immenent British primatologist whose background includes a thorough grounding in the biological sciences including evolutionary theory.
www.amazon.com /exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0691096228?v=glance   (1164 words)

  
 Dunbar,R. Books - Signed, used, new, out-of-print
This title, sanctioned by the AACN, continues to be the most comprehensive clinical resource available for critical care nurses.
Drawing deeply on the stories she heard in her early years, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz brings to life one of the least understood groups in U.S. history--poor rural whites--who are our country's staunchest supporters and critics.
RED DIRT takes us into the minds of these people, allowing us to feel both their grievous sense of loss and their battered but...
www.alibris.com /search/books/author/Dunbar,R.   (1023 words)

  
 Rita, Sue and Bob Too / A State Affair by Andrea Dunbar, Robin Soans   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-20)
When it first came out, Rita Sue and Bob Too caused a sensation for it's frank portrayal of child sexuality in a Northern Town; the fact that the play was based on the writer's own experience only added to the furore.
A State Affair is a record of what they found.
Read about other titles by Andrea Dunbar, Robin Soans
www.methuen.co.uk /stateaffair.html   (256 words)

  
 Year of the Monkey - Archivesv2.0
The studious stare and the light-on-dark contrast is what inspired me to sketch this piece with colored pencils on fl paper.
This one was an experiment with pencils, crayons and markers on indigo Strathmore paper, approximately 5" x 5".
Photo reference from "COUSINS - our primate relatives" - by Robin Dunbar and Louise Barrett - photo credited to Michael & Patricia Fogdon.
www.monkeyinfinity.com /yotm/archives.php?id=A2004031   (1947 words)

  
 Love by the line - David Waynforth and Robin Dunbar study evolutionary factors of mate selection in personal ads - ...
Love by the line - David Waynforth and Robin Dunbar study evolutionary factors of mate selection in personal ads - Light Elements Discover - Find Articles
Love by the line - David Waynforth and Robin Dunbar study evolutionary factors of mate selection in personal ads - Light Elements
UNTIL RECENTLY, THE IDEA OF ADVERTISING publicly for something usually dealt with as privately as romance was all but unthinkable.
www.findarticles.com /p/articles/mi_m1511/is_n3_v17/ai_18047700   (334 words)

  
 New Scientist The Human Story by Robin Dunbar - Books
Breaking the cycle of drug addiction and crime
In The Human Story (Faber and Faber, £12.99) Robin Dunbar quotes Bob Marley's Redemption Song - "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery/None but ourselves can free our minds..." - as he takes us in search of how we got to be the way we are.
I like, for example, his notion of religion: there is no "god spot" in the brain, rather an "ability to self-induce an endorphin surge", reflecting the pleasure we share in belongingness.
www.newscientist.com /channel/being-human/mg18624982.200.html   (163 words)

  
 Robin Dunbar, - 1998 - Theory of mind and the evolution of language   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-20)
Robin Dunbar, - 1998 - Theory of mind and the evolution of language
Dunbar, R. (1998) Theory of mind and the evolution of language.
@incollection{dunbar98theoryOf, author={R. Dunbar}, title={Theory of mind and the evolution of language}, year={1998}, address={Cambridge}, editor={Hurford, J. R., Studdert-Kennedy, M. and Knight C.}, publisher={Cambridge University Press}, booktitle={Approaches to the Evolution of Language: Social and Cognitive Bases}, url={http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/~amag/langev/paper/dunbar98theoryOf.html} }
www.isrl.uiuc.edu /~amag/langev/paper/dunbar98theoryOf.html   (88 words)

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