Slashdot Mirror
The Introvert Advantage
Most people don't understand what introversion is. I certainly didn't, despite delusions to the contrary. The book begins by explaining what being an "innie" is all about, using a light conversational tone and experiences from the (introverted) author's life. A number of misconceptions are examined and dispelled. For example, introversion is not shyness or a lack of social skills. It's temperament, hard wired in your genetic code, and cannot be altered. To give some flavor to the remarks, examples of introverts from fiction and real life (e.g. Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jordan, Steve Martin) are listed.
The book includes what has to be one of the weakest personality tests ever devised. The goal is to determine if you're an introvert, but it appears that most responsible adults qualify. Some of my clearly extroverted friends got nearly the same scores as introverts. Skip it.
That test aside, the author does an excellent job of reducing the difference between introverts and extroverts to one of energy levels. Extroverts have more energy -- and recharge by being around large groups of other people, while introverts have less, and recharge by being alone or with a very small group of close friends. The very things that energize "outies" will drain "innies," leading to the "party pooper" perception.
One of the strongest parts of the book is a discussion of the physiology of introversion. Differences in the dominance of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems (the "fight or flight" and "throttle down" feedback systems) explain why introverts tend to go through the day at a lower energy level than extroverts. Introverts tend to be less vocal and more "blank", especially when mixed into groups of active extroverts.
The discussion of brain chemistry is equally fascinating: introverts use different neurochemicals for memory, which is why it can take some time (and perhaps REM sleep) for information to fully settle and process. Hence the tendency for great ideas to occur during the morning shower. The chemical mix also explains why the sorts of events that stimulate extroverts can quickly over-stimulate and wear out introverts.
Dealing with Extroverts The second part of the book is about dealing with significant others, children, and co-workers. The first chapter has sections on different relationship pairings (introvert male with extrovert female, introvert female with extrovert male, introvert with introvert). These are insightful and, frankly, would have saved me some grief had I read them a number of years ago. The author gives specific tips for improving communication and understanding in each situation.The chapter on parenting gives tips on identifying introverted children and coping with them. This will be more useful for an extroverted parent, who perhaps doesn't understand why sitting quietly and reading has such a strong appeal. The chapter also has tips for introverted parents with extroverted kids, who need a little more outward show than the parents are perhaps used to giving.
A section on socializing and small talk is in this section, but such things have been covered more extensively in books on overcoming shyness.
Introverts and extroverts often rub up against one another in the workplace. In the last chapter in this section, the author raises a number of issues and suggests ways to cope with them. For example, introverts tend to immerse themselves in a particular project, and like to work without interruption for extended periods. Intrusions disrupt concentration, and regaining it takes time and energy. Extroverts enjoy the occasional interruption, because it gives them an energizing break and avoids monotony. Both sides expect the other to feel the same way, so extroverts interrupt others with quick questions (which annoys the introvert), and introverts try to avoid interrupting others (which makes extroverts see introverts as aloof). The chapter also discusses participation in meetings, giving presentations, and just dealing with people who "interface" differently.
There are other books on relationships, parenting, and on dealing effectively with others in the workplace. This is not the book that puts all others to shame, but if you're an introvert it covers the essentials.
Living in an Extroverted World The last part of the book discusses strategies for living in a world dominated by extroverts. How to manage your time, schedule your life in a way that won't cause overstimulation, how to re-energize through aromatherapy. There is some good advice here, but nothing really new or insightful.The author points out that 75% of people are extroverts, and suggests that might explain why the quick-thinking life of the party is idealized. Introverts often have self-esteem problems because they can't be what most of the world wants them to be. The point of this book is to teach introverts why they are the way they are, to show them which aspects of their personality are immutable and which can be changed, and most of all to show that that there is nothing about introversion that requires making excuses.
Much of the value of this book is in the first third, where the psychology and physiology of introversion are treated as an integral whole. Discovering that personality quirks and the desire to ask "how long are we planning to stay at the party" are normal and expected behaviors is liberating. (I'll be launching the Introvert Liberation Front shortly.) The later sections range from "just okay" to very good, but even if you've seen such before it's worthwhile to get a different perspective. Other books -- many of which are listed in the bibliography -- have covered these topics with greater depth or breadth, but the focus on looking at life from an introvert's perspective separates this from most of them.
I highly recommend this book to introverts or to extroverts with an introvert in their life. (If you work in high tech, you're probably one or the other.)
You can purchase The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World from bn.com. There is also a web site for the book, with merchandise, downloadable pamphlets, and discussion forums. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
I know I'm hanging on every word you have to say. Calling everybody else stupid isn't a sign of introversion, it is a sign of arrogance.
deserve's got nothing to do with it...
Introverts often have self-esteem problems because they can't be what most of the world wants them to be.
In my experience low self esteem often occurs because someone cant be what they think the rest of the world wants them to be. Personally I always find this strange because I'm pretty sure the rest of world does not give a shit about me so I dont really care what the world thinks anyway.
The point of this book is to teach introverts why they are the way they are, to show them which aspects of their personality are immutable and which can be changed, and most of all to show that that there is nothing about introversion that requires making excuses.
Is personality, or certain personality traits immutable? I would have thought that with the right stimulation it would be highly mutable. Thats ignoring the fact that we are intelligent enought to recognise our own patterns of behaviour and can suppress our natural instincts if we make that choice.
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
...right about here:
. It's temperament, hard wired in your genetic code, and cannot be altered.
That's taking determinism a bit too far, I think. Genetic, perhaps -- but unalterable? Personality is not as incorrigible as that. There's no reason to assume that introversion is a defect or that it must be reversed, but claiming that it's inherently unalterable is just absurd.
Introverts need to learn a little extroversion just to get along in life. Human beings are social creatures, and generally speaking, two heads are always better than one when solving problems. One doesn't need to make a lifestyle out of it, but IMO the sooner an introvert learns some of the basic "tricks" of reaching out to others, the better.
mutter mutter pop psychology bull crap mutter mutter.
If we're going to discuss the subject, I should point out that most of these psychological scale type thingies measure introversion-extroversion in two arenas: problem solving and personality. I'm very much an extrovert, in terms of my personality, but I'm an introverted problem solver.
Both of these characteristics have changed over time, so I don't see how it's so interesting.
I think these things say only slightly more about me than my astrological sign. I get the feeling that many of these pop psychology categorizer folks believe in astrology, too, though, so... at least there's one thing we can all agree on.
I'm not sure if that came out right. Anyway, it's hooey.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
and take some anti-anxiety pills
Introversion != Social Anxiety
The former is, as described in the article, a temperment issue. Introverts tend to enjoy being alone or with a few close friends. Extroverts tend to find this boring. Extroverts tend to enjoy interacting with large groups of strangers. Introverts tend to find this tiresome.
Social anxiety is a paralyzing fear of social interaction caused by brain chemistry. People with SA are usually unhappy because they want social interaction but can't handle it, while introverts can handle social interaction but don't want to.
A legparnasom tele van angolnaval.
Unfortunately, it's also made me a lot of enemies out of people who think that geeks should not be so extroverted...
I don't mean the following to sound harsh, but this behavior is typical of introverts.
The reason it annoys people is because you're not being extroverted, you're just seeking attention. An extrovert enjoys making *social* connections to people. You're not connecting with people; you're just hoping they will notice you as a substitute for a true connection.
A similar thing that introverts due (and geeks are notorious for) is replacing true conversation with being a walking encyclopia. Someone talks about the weather, and the geek goes on to explain strato cumulous clouds. It's not a conversation, it's a plea for attention. "Aren't I clever that I understand clouds".
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
MY own experience, and from most other introverts I've spoken to.
One thing is in common, they dont like being around people, why? Well most of them had bad experiences with people in the past.
Kinda like a rape victim suddenly doesnt like to be around guys, or a person who would always get chased by dogs would hate being around dogs.
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
I disagree - Many introverts see conversation as a medium for exchanging information. When a "geek" explains what he/she knows about a current topic, they are doing several things:
Most introverts could care less about the attention, (we'll skip the obligatory Maslow's Hierarchy comment) and will often keep silent regarding a topic to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Indeed, many introverts find that "being clever" is the best way to attract the ire of those around them. Many introverts find conversation to be of less interest unless the energy expended to talk to a person garners something in return... like new information or trivia. (Introverted conversations often start "Did you know that....".)
Let's remember that there are reasons to have a conversation that don't involve "social connections" of the extroverted ilk. Introverts communicate differently and for different reasons.
Not that most reasonably intelligent introverts could stand a typical "how's the weather" small talk for very long. The thing is you always have to know your strenghts and play on those in a way that gets you connected to people. Many geeky types are very good listeners and do know how to ask questions that can get people to think about something in a different way.
The ability to stimulate someone else's mind in the way that they can stimulate their own is an incredibly useful skill. This also far more useful than simply trying to emulate the typical conversations extrovert-types engage in with each other and only end up being frustrated.
The two things to remember are empathy and practice.
___
Cogito cogito, ergo cogito sum.
I'm not sure I quite agree with that. I think this may be a chicken-and-the-egg scenario.
Take me for example. I tend towards the introverted side, at least in that I don't care for large social engagements (even as I type this, my colleagues at work are on the department picnic, and I declined to attend because it's just not my scene).
Now, when I was growing up, I admit to being the one that was picked on and bullied a lot. But from my recollections, and what my Dad tells me, I was always on the reserved side. So it's not a cut-and-dry case with me. Did I become introverted because of being picked on, or did I get picked on because I was introverted? Tough call.
I decline to go to social engagements not because I don't like being around people, but simply because there are usually other things I would rather be doing that happen to be more inward-focused, or focused towards my wife and I (who is also introverted, and from her background, might also dispute the which-came-first argument).
Karma: Frotzed (mostly due to the Frobozz Magic Karma Company)