[jhspaybar]

Is there research to this stereotype of "smart people are introverts"? Especially in highly collaborative environments like software engineering. Being an introvert and an asshole seems completely opposite to asking for, receiving, and giving help. My experience tells me this is bad in the environment we work in...

[od2m]

First of all, introverts are not "assholes" -- they're just different. About one quarter of the population are introverts but about half of all "gifted" people are introverts. Most introverts learn to cope in an extrovert world by becoming "actors" -- learning how to interact with extroverts -- but some do not.

Introverts have physically different brain organizations and may grasp for words at times. They tend to dislike self promotion -- they perceive it as fake, and also dislike having attention drawn to them. They generally think a lot and say very little. They tend to focus on details quite a bit.

Introversion isn't a single dimensional thing, it's a cluster of dozens of tendencies brought about by this alternate brain organization.

Source: The Introvert Advantage (book).

[philwelch]

Are you trolling?