An introvert is not someone who just needs to ‘get out more’ and ‘learn to not be so shy’ but a person with a seperate philosophy of life from the noisy majority. 98% percent of talk is small talk. It leads to nothing, is spouted out for its own sake without consideration. It is a waste of time and energy. It is pollution. It is mandatory. Those who do not subscribe to a lifestyle of loghorrhea and chronic mass gatherings invested with false importance are known as ‘introverts.’
The term is loaded with negative connotations, but I will use it, because it is the word most used in the common sphere. As such, after a lifetime in the predominant noise culture, I am less than inclined to be charitable in my terms towards the extroverted. It might be tempting right here at the beginning to label me as bitter. Perhaps, but the important thing is that I am one who disagrees with the prevailing practices and am on the internet looking to find the like-minded and inform more extroverted individuals. By approaching the matter with candor, without politically correct hedging, I would strive to communicate more effectively to whomever might come here. To write without such constraints is precisely the purpose of writing incognito on the internet.
To begin I would establish the underlying premise of all that follows here:
Introverts are not people who are shy or talk less. They are an altogether different culture with different values.
Kingdom of Introversion 
I started:
http://introvertedfool.wordpress.com/
A great thing to watch to showcase how introverts and the like are treated by the Loud and the Correct, is the Star Trek: Voyager episode Pathfinder. Heck, watch ALL episodes of Star Trek starring Dwight Schultz as Reginald Barclay; it’s a sad thing to see that even in the 24th century (where supposedly all forms of discrimination have been eliminated), if you are Incorrect you will be treated as a second-class citizen, will never be respected, will be judged because you are more interested in problem-solving and thinking rather than small-talking and other irrelevancy… EVEN WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING!
Harry Kim is probably the most introverted guy on Voyager and everyone seems to walk over or ignore him. They tease him that his main romance was with a hologram. Even the show’s writers don’t seem to like him that much!
I always felt bad for Barclay even as a kid when I was watching TNG.
Even when he tried to retreat to the holodeck to be alone, they end up confronting him when he’s at his most vulnerable.
At least they did genuinely try to include him as a crew member in spite of his quirks.
Later in TNG and in Voyager he seems much more at home in starfleet.
Still, starfleet does seem to be a place that is best for type As.
I don’t think Enterprise had a single low key character I could really connect with. The original had Spock, TNG had Data, Geordi, Barclay, Worf(and Xanatos). In Voyager, Chakotay and Tuvok keep introspective private lives separate from the job and Harry Kim is the low key engineer. It just seemed like the whole crew in Enterprise were outgoing action heroes. The engineer was the most outgoing of all; he might as well have been frat president. DS9 also had fewer characters I really connected with. Odo and Worf seemed to be the only aloof, gruff ones and Julian Bashir drove me crazy.
Picard is my favorite captain because he’s grouchy and introspective(his personal nightmare is getting trapped in an elevator with a bunch of kids) compared to the others. He tends to keep people at arm’s length and only those who know him well have any inkling of his more empathetic side.
I should maybe start watching that show from the beginning. Never got into it during its time…. maybe now that I’m older.
YES! “98% percent of talk is small talk. It leads to nothing, is spouted out for its own sake without consideration. It is a waste of time and energy”
I have an extroverted sister and I get to hear her talking about far too much with each new acquaintance – there is nothing she won’t discuss. I just don’t understand it. Why would you want a complete stranger to know so much about you? She definitely receives some kind of “stroke” of worthiness from the exchange – as does the other extrovert. I also think she does it in part just to prove to me that she’s not ïnhibited” like I am.
DOUBLE YES! ” Introverts are not people who are shy or talk less. They are an altogether different culture with different values.”
I simply cannot do Facebook et al. There is no way anyone can have that many “friends” and nobody needs to hear every thought that pops into my head. It’s just too much. What’s wrong with face to face or with a phone calls? Anyone? Anyone? The social media sites just seems to be a place for people to continue their mindless chit chat – and see it in print. I’ll stop there, but I have my own theories.
I wonder if this is an introvert thing or not: When I think about my childhood -trying to find causes for the way I am in this world – one peculiar thing is I can’t actually pinpoint when I realized I was a separate entity. Is it just me – that I cannot remember distinguishing myself separate from my environment until probably 5th grade? I know my parents were controlling narcissists, but even so…I have no recollection of “self” until 4th or 5th grade. Does that mean I was just content to watch everyone for years without needing to engage myself? And no, I wasn’t autistic.
Gluon, I like what I’m reading so far. This is proving to be an interesting website. Thank you.