

The science behind why introverts struggle to speak - skazka16
http://introvertdear.com/2015/05/13/the-science-behind-why-introverts-struggle-to-speak/

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underwater
I slowly transitioned from being painfully shy and pretty awkward in my late
teens to being relatively outspoken and comfortable in social settings in my
late twenties.

In hindsight many of the skills I lacked a decade ago -- speaking clearly,
recalling the correct words, smalltalk, even remembering people's names --
were things that improved radically with practise.

It seems pretty obvious now. I can have a conversation and actually focus on
the content because I'm not focusing on my language, or random social
niceties. All the little things I used to have to concentrate on have become
rote.

Back then I thought these were just things I was just inherently bad at. I get
a little frustrated when people blame their lack of social skills on a self-
diagnosis of introversion. It's the exact same thing as claiming simple
arithmetic is too hard bexause you're bad at math.

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heimatau
There is no science here. Misleading title.

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Sideloader
Have an upvote!

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zhte415
"Quiet people have the loudest minds." A fantastic quote (Stephen Hawking)
which I will use again and again.

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Sideloader
Pop-psychology's obsession with "introverts" has spawned a profitable industry
consisting of various "experts" churning out a steady supply of papers and
articles claiming that...well, what _are_ they claiming exactly?

Pretty much every article on the subject I've read or skimmed characterizes
so-called introverts as fragile, overly-sensitive misfits suffering from some
form of crippling shyness who are perfectly normal but have to be treated with
extra care and respect (a helpful howto guide is often included) by the
segment of the normal population that happens to be more socially inclined and
outgoing.

Basically, introversion is a perfectly normal yet agonizing condition that
causes psychological suffering so extreme that the non-afflicted normal people
have to recognize that this normal yet horrible-sounding condition exists and
that its sufferers need special treatment to help them function comfortably
in, er, normal social and public settings.

Yeah, that makes no sense whatsoever. But when the bullshit layer is removed
that's what the vast majority of articles about introverts are saying. Where
does this "introversion", that science is now apparently studying, come from?
It comes from the mind of C.G Jung and gained popularity via the decidedly
unscientific Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment that is popular in certain
HR departments, with poorly-trained psychologists and with people who obsess
over their four-letter MBTI code and what it ostensibly represents.

My take (as someone who self-identified as an introvert in high school) is
that Myers-Briggs and the labels it spawns are pseudo-scientific bullshit that
triggers the same cognitive distortions and biases as astrology and
horoscopes. According to Jung a person inclined towards introversion needs
alone time to relax and "recharge", whereas the extrovert feels most relaxed
and revitalized in a stimulating social environment. Jung's concept, while not
scientific, makes more sense than the twisted version peddled today where a
person is either extremely extroverted, or extremely introverted. People who
invest a big chunk of their identity in an essentially meaningless label are
then reluctant to let go of it and end up stuck in a confirmation-bias loop
that reinforces the fairy story they've bought into.

Maybe one problem here is that many people actually think it's weird or
abnormal to not feel 100% comfortable and at ease in all situations at all
times. This is a society (US/Canada) so obsessed with attaining a mythical
non-existent level of "happiness" that frauds like Deepak Chopra make a very
good living writing "definitive" guides to happiness and contentment etc. and
people keep buying and buying rather than wondering why, after reading a
decades worth of happy books they're _still_ not happy.

The related absolutely-normal-yet-horribly-defective introvert scam gets more
outlandish every six-months or so. I mean a website called
introvertdear...aw,how precious. And now "science" has identified four types
of introversion! And I have some prime real-estate in the Everglades for
sale...and I'm investing in this new bridge project that...actually I'll tell
you all about it over a drink. My treat.

