You are probably vaguely aware that Dunbar’s Number is 150. It’s the maximum number of people that we can socially interact with, not the number of our close friends — that’s much smaller.
It’s the maximum number of people where peer pressure will keep the group intact. The maximum size of a group that we can describe as ‘us’ rather than ‘them’.
If an organisation has more than 150 members, it needs a managerial structure.
The basic fighting unit of the Roman army — the maniple — had around 130 to 150 soldiers.
A British Army company has around 150 soldiers.
And there are many more such examples. Dunbar correlates this to the size of the neocortex. Even if we wanted to have groups larger than 150, we aren’t adequately equipped.
There are a couple of other examples, but I don’t think they are related to the neocortex.
I remember in a physics lesson in school, that we were introduced to the idea that Adam and Eve were 150 feet tall. I really don’t know if this was apocryphal or not, but the idea was easily disproven: their bones would not have been strong enough.
And in another peculiar piece of early theology, the question was: how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
And yes, someone worked it out. It was 150.
So now you know.
