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Comment by wccrawford | Hacker News Reader

"Are introverts arrogant? Hardly. I suppose this common misconception has to do with our being more intelligent, more reflective, more independent, more level-headed, more refined, and more sensitive than extroverts."

... That's the very definition of arrogant.

I'm an introvert and happy with it. The people who are still my friends know this and don't try to change me. I don't try to frame my introversion in terms of being better than others, though. I simply am who I am.

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"Do introverts have trouble picking up on irony?"

Absolutely not... I am an introvert.

Why are those introverts here so going extra about it?

I teach English comp to freshmen at the University of Arizona and assign this piece every semester. About a quarter to a third of them don't realize that Rauch is joking. Usually I go through the Google section ("I performed exhaustive research on this question, in the form of a quick Google search. The answer: About 25 percent. Or: Just under half. Or—my favorite—"a minority in the regular population but a majority in the gifted population."") to make this obvious.

I've also noticed a weird gender breakdown: a fair number of guys say things like, "this describes me perfectly!" and a fair number of girls say things like, "this describes my boyfriend perfectly!" It's rare to get responses the other way around. Anything that increases understanding is, in my view, a net good thing.

A poorly written book called "The Introvert Advantage" elaborates on the idea that introverts aren't necessarily shy -- they just need time alone to recharge, while extroverts actually find themselves energized by others and bored alone. Despite the low quality of the writing, I sometimes recommend it to people who have that "ah ha!" moment.

My favorite part of "The Introvert Advantage" is the lovely blue ink used in printing it. As if introverts are so delicate, black ink would somehow damage our little psyche's.

I didn't realise it was meant to be a joke. I thought it was a thinly veiled attack on "extroverts", with a jibe at those who consider Google research. Actually quite offensive to both groups really.

Are you saying it is rare to get guys suggesting "this describes my girlfriend perfectly"?

I did the first time I read it, and it still seems a thin explanation for those remarks. The bulk of the article is a serious personal reflection on the topic and the only indication that he's joking is the over the top content of his hyperbole with no setup to the "joke" or obvious indication afterward before he transitions back into serious form. If there's hyperbole in that paragraph it is better lit in the remark about six hour meetings, though I imagine for the bulk of HN'ers six hour meetings are a very real horror not to be joked about.

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