When I was a young man I didn't have a smartphone. I didn't have 'social networks' such as Facebook.
This was the before World Wide Web days. ;)
I couldn't reach across the gaps of continents and make first contact with any one single human being, among billions, at any moment.
The strange thing however is that in 1988, I knew just as many people personally as I do now.
It was Robin Dunbar who discovered that our monkey mind can actually only know and trust about 150 people at a time.
Not coincidentally this same number of humans equals the ideal size for a village or a company.
This week I am taking out a notebook and attempting to narrow down the thousands of 'friends' that I have on various social networks, as well as all of the people whom I have met over the years, to a list of merely 150 humans.
My simple criteria is this; 150 people whom I know, like, and trust.
What I imagine before I do this exercise is that some will be from the small town I grew up, some will be people with whom I worked with in the past, some will be family, and some will be people with whom I share philosophical ideas with whom I met on the internet, but never in person.
In the notebook I intend to list the relevant data on an individual which would help me contact and/or visit the person in meat space.
I will also list the skills and or products that the individual offers in the free-market.
How do you think this notebook exercise will help me personally?
Do you see what may emerge if many people were to do this simple exercise?
Post below if you too complete this 'Notebook > Facebook' challenge.
I will be posting a part 2 of this article and let you know how it goes for me!