An alternative to Andy’s 3–12–120 plotting of optimal sizes for culture-making (and -disseminating) groups. I don’t know if starting with “the seven” totally matches with Andy’s idea of an “absolutely small” creative group—seven is more minivan than Mini Cooper
150— “The Exclusive Dunbar Number”. Robin Dunbar got much of the discussion of group thresholds started with his article, “Co-Evolution Of Neocortex Size, Group Size And Language In Humans.” However, as I’ve written previously, and as I’ve described in this article, Dunbar’s group threshold of 150 applies more to groups that are highly incentivized and relatively exclusive and whose goal is survival. Dunbar makes this obvious by the statement that such a grouping “would require as much as 42% of the total time budget to be devoted to social grooming.” The result of the grooming requirement is that communities bounded by the Exclusive Dunbar Number are relatively few. You will find hunter/gatherer and other subsistence societies where this is a natural tribe size. You’ll also find these groups sizes in terrorist and mafia organizations
from “Community by the Numbers, Part One: Group Thresholds,” by Christopher Allen, Life With Alacrity, 24 September 2008 :: thanks, Koranteng!