[bootsz]

Great article. Thanks for sharing this. I think perspectives like yours are what we need to move beyond what are often one-dimensional conversations about diversity.

Aside: Please forgive the nitpick, but despite its widespread use I really don't think "extroverted introvert" is a thing. The problem is that these two things are opposite ends of a spectrum. I think what people really mean when they say "extroverted introvert" is one of two things:

1) Ambivert : "a person whose personality has a balance of extrovert and introvert features"

2) Introvert, but not shy : It is a common misconception that introverts are inherently shy. The two are correlated, but not the same thing. You can be introverted and not be shy, either inherently or by learning to overcome shyness. Extra/introversion has more to do with your preferences and where you derive energy from. Shyness is more fear-based, and fear can be overcome.

Anyway that's not really a critical part of your article but I've sort of unintentionally become a Myers-Briggs nerd over the years and enjoy discussing stuff like that :)

[zwieback]

I just finished "The personality brokers", fantastic book, which explores how E<>I entered popular culture via the Myers-Briggs test.

When the E<>I spectrum was subjected to more rigorous analysis it turned out it may just be a metric of "talkativeness" and not really related to the Jungian concept.

[bootsz]

Hmm.. Talkativeness seems way too narrow to me. The theory of deriving energy externally vs. internally makes the most sense to me personally. Though it would certainly correlate with talkativeness. But I'm not an expert on the matter :)

[thanatropism]

Yeah but then you have to define energy.

[Jach]

Extraversion has had proper studies with the Big 5 traits, it's more than just "talkativeness". But some of the seeming conflicts come from the 5 traits being able to be factored further into 10 aspects; for extraversion it splits between "enthusiasm" and "assertiveness". See e.g. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4818974/ or http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.513...

[zhangela]

Thank you for the feedback!

Agreed the term "extroverted introvert" is not most clear. What I tried to express in this post is "even though social interactions can be draining to me, I'm comfortable being outspoken and actively participating in discussions, which gives me an advantage in the work setting," so most similar to (2) in your description above.

[blueboo]

If a specific term in a narrow context has a meaning different from the one in common use, choosing to misread one for the other isn't a nitpick, it's just...misreading

[mixmastamyk]

> Introverted, but not shy

Thanks, just realized that is me. I prefer to be alone most of the time, but am able to enjoy the occasional party, and even give a speech/talk when needed without issue.

[stephengillie]

"Ambiverts" are never called this. Extroverts complain about the ambivert's introversion, and introverts praise the ambivert's extroversion. Thus, at least some of the confusion is understandable.

[jerrycruncher]

The whole 'introverted extrovert' (and vice versa) thing is pretty stilly.

In the old days we had a word for people who neither sought nor avoided emotional stimuli: normal.