**Pattern Name:**
Magic Number Five
**Introduction:**
Five people working together can seem like magic.
**Illustration:**
Source Wikimedia Commons
Four Connections Each
**CONTEXT:**
Collective action comes in many varieties.
Self-selected small groups have the advantage of mutual understanding and trust which leverages the limited time and resources.
Small groups of even numbers easily divide into factions.
Five member groups can prove to be creative and effecient.
Connections to Maintain by Group Size
Group pairwise connections = 𝑛(𝑛−1)/2
**PROBLEM:** **Groups with too few participants lack sufficient community context. Too many participants use up precious time, resources, and patience.**
**Forces:**
**THEREFORE (SOLUTION):**
**Get five (5) people together who care about the same thing in the same location. Grow by adding groups of size five, which may include members from other groups.**
Try to balancing diverse experience and the work to be done against sheer number of relationships within the group.
When selecting participants each person ideally should know and trust at least one other person in the small group.
In groups of five participants each person needs to maintain four connections for a total of 20 connections (10 pairwise) making up the group.
It seems to work. Give it a try. Find four others and get going.
**Actions:**
**Consequences:**
**Known Uses:**
Stafford Beer's Syntegration.
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