Here’s the clean breakdown:

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🧠 What a Dunbar Circle Is
Dunbar circles are layers of social closeness arranged around you like ripples.  
Each circle represents a different level of emotional intimacy, time investment, and cognitive bandwidth.

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🔵 The Four Classic Dunbar Circles

| Circle | Approx. Size | Who’s In It | What It Means |
|-------|--------------|-------------|----------------|
| Support Clique | ~4–5 people | Your absolute closest: partner, best friends, immediate family | You rely on them in crises; you spend the most emotional energy here.  |
| Sympathy Group | ~12–15 people | Good friends you see often | You share personal updates, help each other, and maintain regular contact.  |
| Affinity Group | ~45–50 people | Friends, extended family, people you like and interact with occasionally | You enjoy them, but they’re not in your inner emotional world.  |
| Active Network | ~120–150 people | The full set of people you know well enough to interact with at least yearly | This is the famous “Dunbar’s Number.” Beyond this, relationships get too thin to maintain.  |

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🧩 Why These Circles Exist
Dunbar’s research links the size of the human neocortex to the number of stable relationships we can maintain.  
Humans top out around 150 meaningful connections, which is why villages, military units, and even modern teams often cluster around this size.

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🎯 Why It Matters
Understanding your Dunbar circles helps you:

- Protect your emotional bandwidth  
- Prioritize who gets your time  
- Understand why friendships fade without contact  
- Build healthier, more intentional social networks

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If you want, I can map out your Dunbar circles based on the people in your life—or help you design a visual version in a pop‑art style that fits your vibe.