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There are a couple of big, important difference between introverts and extroverts:
1. Extroverts get their energy from other people. Introverts are DRAINED by being around other people. Introverts can and usually do still socialize, they just need time alone to recharge afterwards.
2. Extroverts have this tendency to talk just to make a connection with other people, and may not actually be saying anything. To introverts, this sounds like noise, like static on a phone line. And, actually, by certain definitions it IS noise.* The more static/noise there is, the more difficulty an introvert has with it. Introverts don't derive energy from other people, so connecting just for the sheer hell of it doesn't work with us, and drains us. We need our communications with other people to either contain new information, or make us laugh.
I say all this because until a few minutes ago, I had to tolerate sitting within hearing distance of a bunch of extrovert, neurotypical teenage girls. With a group like that, not only are 99% of their utterances noise, it's loud and obnoxious noise. I think the only group better than neurotypical teenage girls at generating meaningless static are politicians.
* = Information theory definitions, to be exact. Signal = communication that contains new information.
Noise = communication that contains no new information. Put another way, the more predictable the content is, the more noise it contains. By this definition, most politicians produce nothing but static. Mitt Romney conveys signal only because nobody can predict from one moment to the next which position he's going to take when he speaks.
1. Extroverts get their energy from other people. Introverts are DRAINED by being around other people. Introverts can and usually do still socialize, they just need time alone to recharge afterwards.
2. Extroverts have this tendency to talk just to make a connection with other people, and may not actually be saying anything. To introverts, this sounds like noise, like static on a phone line. And, actually, by certain definitions it IS noise.* The more static/noise there is, the more difficulty an introvert has with it. Introverts don't derive energy from other people, so connecting just for the sheer hell of it doesn't work with us, and drains us. We need our communications with other people to either contain new information, or make us laugh.
I say all this because until a few minutes ago, I had to tolerate sitting within hearing distance of a bunch of extrovert, neurotypical teenage girls. With a group like that, not only are 99% of their utterances noise, it's loud and obnoxious noise. I think the only group better than neurotypical teenage girls at generating meaningless static are politicians.
* = Information theory definitions, to be exact. Signal = communication that contains new information.
Noise = communication that contains no new information. Put another way, the more predictable the content is, the more noise it contains. By this definition, most politicians produce nothing but static. Mitt Romney conveys signal only because nobody can predict from one moment to the next which position he's going to take when he speaks.