The Quiet People

People who can focus, who invent and run today's technological world, who seek deeper insights and meanings, and who are introverted. Bad or good?

America is notoriously extroverted. A country of movers and shakers, networkers and gladhanders. We have a duty to be cheerful, competitive, and team-players. Everyone must sell, and the brand is one's self. Those who are quiet, introspective are not fit for this race, maybe damaged or not properly raised, losers. Middle and high school are generally where these tropes are pursued with greatest fervor, setting life-long patterns. Schools are "owned" by the popular students jocks, etc., who fulfill the partying and playing mantras of mindless youth. Later, workplaces are run likewise by extroverts, who come from sales and promote networking, "brainstorming" and open offices.

Who gets left out? Who cares? A landmark book on all this by Susan Cain, Quiet, came to the defense of introverts. Introverts are not antisocial. Quite the opposite- they are highly empathetic and value quality over quantity. They may not be the life of the party, but they are frequently the life-line of their best friend. They may not think on their feet so well, but think more deeply, if they are not constantly bothered. "Flow" is their métier. Introverts are not "wrong" or bad. Every species has them in large proportion- evolution has consistently tuned populations to benefit from the diversity of the adventurous and the careful, the brash and the thoughtful, each of whom contribute to survival and success, especially in our species.

Recent presidents offer instructive examples. Barack Obama is, by and large, an introvert. As president, he valued his quiet home life, studied briefing materials and pending issues carefully and deeply, and took time coming to decisions. He was notoriously uninterested in backslapping and entertaining with congressional delegations. He was cool, and a bit formal. Trump, on the other hand, has the attention span of a gnat, gets his briefing materials from FOX talk shows, and exhibits unparalleled aesthetic and intellectual shallowness. Which is the better presidential temperament?

Geeks have of late gained some recognition and cultural respect, through the computer industry, gaming, hacking, and the like. Even Big Bang Theory. But have schools become less frenetic and extrovert-oriented? Have workplaces dropped the open offices and the lets-have-a-meeting default setting for any problem? Do they pay introverts what they are worth? We have a very long way to go. The internet has had interesting and mixed effects. It has enabled telecommuting, a huge advance for those able to take advantage. It has also enabled thoughtful, self-paced learning and connection to others, not to mention anonymity for the shy. But the facebooks and twitters have turned these tools to a much darker place, with spewing ads, social competition for likes, and click-driven flaming, trolling, and bullying. It has been an object lesson in the limits of an extroverted philosophy of boundless connection.

This is a case where we can really all get along, given a little understanding, however. Yes, introverts need to work a bit on connecting with others, depending on their needs and capacities. But they also deserve a world that does not devalue them with unthinking prejudice and structures of social torture.

• Competition isn't everything.
• Malthus and the decline of empires.
• Apartheid as a solution for democracy.
• What is wrong with us? Revenge against meritocracy and decency.
• Wage growth is rather uneven.
• The state of antitrust.
• Full employment is a worthy, critical goal. UBI may keep people off the streets, but jobs give them (and us) dignity.
• Is there no decency left in this Republican party?
• Trump and Russia go way back.