There are definitely more shades of vert than intro and extro. This chart is fun in showing that there is a continuum in the personality type scheme. Some people are in the middle of the intro-extro spectrum. Energized by people at times, exhausted by people at other times. Myers-Briggs is useful in reminding us that people have different ways of responding to the universe. Myers-Briggs is irritating when people think that they actually have a "type" that is static and measurable.
like veti, animad and per? I sometimes think the use of variables and continuum might be the wrong way to understand individuals maybe short stories or poems would be better.
Meyers-Briggs (which is rife with problems IMHO but I'll reference anyway) pegs me as an introvert, which surprised me a little this last round, but may very well be accurate. This chart unfortunately doesn't help me diagnose myself at all. Wait, I'm lying. I came to that conclusion after reading it the first two times. Upon the third revisit I'm willing to say that according to this chart I mostly fall into the introvert category. I am one of those people who is very quiet in a group of people I do not know or am not comfortable with, but can be very loud, jovial, social, and outgoing in a group or social situation where I am comfortable. It takes me a while to get a feel for new people. I like to stay quiet at first and observe. What might make them laugh? What are they thinking about? How do they work? When it comes to small talk I can do it and I understand its function, which is why I will participate in it. Small talk puts people at ease. It makes them feel comfortable with you, and hopefully vice versa. It can lead to big talk down the road(which is what I prefer - when it stays small for too long, i.e. repeated interactions, I start to find it boring). My favorite friends are the ones I can hang out in silence with. We know each other well enough if we don't have something to talk about, we don't need to talk. It is relaxed and unforced. Tonight I had to go to a bar and settle matters with someone. It was draining. I was invited to go elsewhere with others afterwards but I much preferred to leave alone, go back to my place, write down some of what had happened, and turn it over in my mind. My roommate considers herself an introvert, but I think it is more a case of shyness. From what I've observed, she loves to talk. (That is my polite way of saying she talks far too much for me.) She has a lot of trouble making friends however. I think her assessment of introversion allows her to dismiss her lack of social connections as a fixed aspect of her personality, which in turn means she doesn't have to work on it - it allows her to avoid confronting and potentially overcoming what I believe is really shyness and a little social anxiety. This is something I've thought about a fair bit since moving in with her and realizing how much she likes to talk. She also likes to go out and do things too - I'm not making this assessment off of just one trait, of course! Anyway, some ruminations.
I am solidly in the shy category. This is something I feel often feel bad about (deservedly or not) and am constantly working to improve on.
No no my friends are fine with it, I just beat myself up sometimes because I feel I'd be happier if I was more outgoing and had an easier time socializing and making friends and acquaintances.
I think we evolved in the context of tribe and clan. This Neo-local world seems not to be built for introverts or much of anyone else normal.