[DiamondFox]

Summarized from Susan Cain's book "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking"

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A very basic definition is that introverts have a preference for quiet, minimally stimulating environments.

This means that introverts tend to enjoy quiet concentration, listen more than talk and think before they speak. They tend think more and focus on quality over quantity in most things and tend to focus intently on a single project at a time (i.e. friendships and how they engage projects and hobbies at work/during free time).

Extroverts are energized by social situations and tend to be multi-taskers who think out loud and therefore need others' feedback to validate their ideas or nudge them in the right direction.

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I highly recommend the book, especially if you think you're an introvert or have difficulty accepting yourself as one. It really helped me see that it was OK being introverted and that there were certain advantages that extroverts don't have

[JDiculous]

I don't see how introversion and extroversion are mutually exclusive. Sometimes I prefer being alone and concentrating on something (eg. thinking, writing, coding, etc), other times I prefer socializing with other people.

What does that make me - someone who's sometimes introverted and sometimes extroverted? In that case these labels aren't very useful are they? Not to mention everything is relative. I'm more social than the average software engineer, but less social than the average salesperson.

[mturmon]

This taxonomic question always comes up in HN discussions of personality type - see also, whenever Myers Briggs is discussed.

My take is that some people are well characterized by being on one side of a dichotomy - say, introvert/extrovert, or analytical/intuitive. They really get something out of discussions like in TFA, because they fit the class. And the fit can provide a powerful high-level diagnostic on a lot of otherwise inchoate feelings.

But, some folks are not well captured by the dichotomy - like yourself. These people tend to say that TFA is reductive and simplistic, and does not capture reality.

And both sets of people are right. For themselves.

[asdfasdfa11112]

Do you think it's possible that your (well-thought-out) post could replace "people are well characterized by being on one side of a dichotomy" with "people are more comfortable thinking they are on one side of a dichotomy", without losing any resolution?

[mturmon]

For me, that weakening seems inaccurate. And going further, I really do believe some people besides me are well-characterized, in part, by the introvert/extrovert divide.

[herghost]

There's a concept of an 'ambivert' too, which sits in the middle.

The popular understanding of introversion and extraversion has necessarily simplified the whole set up to 'loud, socialising people', and 'quiet, solitary' people.

Neither are true - both are caricatures of the truth.

I think it comes down essentially to how you recharge mentally - you do it in company by bouncing off others, or you do it alone.

Neither precludes the capabilities traditionally ascribed to either camp - introverts are perfectly capable of being social, as much as extraverts are perfectly capable of being cerebral.

[jarofgreen]

The book discusses this point well. (Arguably the article could have done a better job with this.) Seriously, it's a good book and I would recommend it.