Network Man

In the Connected book, the authors think our species could be termed homo dictyous (connected man) dicty being latin for network.

Social ballroom dancing is an interesting study because it is a close connection between two people that is easily formed and broken. How close? A foot apart. How entered in? An agreement for the space of a song, usually 3 minutes. Or perhaps a partnership for a series of lessons, which ideally would involve changing partners.

In the book, a small group, say for dinner, is ideally 3.8 people. An overnight camp often holds 38 people. A village has 150 members, a tribe 1,155. A dance class shouldn't be over 24, so that doesn't fit into those numbers.

The connections to find dance partners are what I'm interested in studying. How important dance is versus other factors determining the connection.