Leads to: Extrovert Critic: “You Read Too Much”
The acquisition of knowledge has a very different meaning to introverts and extroverts.
Extroverts: Learning is a means to an ends
Introverts: Learning is an end unto itself.
Extroverts learn something so they can get something. They usually have a very precise goal for pursuing information. What is their goal? It is almost always to get some kind of socially recognized title or certificate. Without some kind of tangible end result that manifests in one’s social relationships, there is no reason at all to learn. It is a very typical pattern for an extrovert to plow through countless dry textbooks in order to be awarded some crucial social distinction and then be perfectly happy never again reading another book. After all books are a waste of time once one has ‘punched the ticket.’ Thereafter, from the Loud perspective, it’s the water cooler interactions and the networking that matters. For an extrovert, learning is something that is done to you by others. To teach oneself would be unthinkable, and well, even if it could be done, it would be boring. Most importantly, one would go through endless hours of trouble without even a promised social stamp of approval at the end.
Introverts learn something because it is fun. There may not be any immediate or tangible goal. Or rather, there are multiple goals, some of them tangible and others more in the realm of dream. Learning is the lifeblood and life purpose of the true introvert. They will acquire whatever knowledge is necessary to make it in society, but will continue to both broaden and augment their knowledge throughout their lives. Or often, the recreational accumulation of knowledge and skills gives an introvert everything they need to succeed. It is a very typical pattern for an introvert to get the skills they need and then keep on learning and expanding just as before. They read books to get where they are, they keep on reading until the grave. For the true introvert, all learning starts with the personal volition to learn and love of knowledge. Learning starts with the self and not with society and social institutions. An introvert gets formal instruction because they too need formal stamps of approval and because they genuinely enjoy social interaction that revolves around the exchange of information. However, the instruction of others is just a tool that facilitates the process of self-learning. From the Subtle perspective learning is not done to us. Rather we do it to ourselves out of love of knowledge and get help from others along the way. Social stamps of approval are nice, but they never were the source of motivation. There is no end to learning. Instead, it is a personal lifelong journey.
15 Comments
have you ever been into socionics or mbti?i don’t think that the learning process/motivation depends only on whether sb is an I/E.
Is detailed research into the Meyers Briggs system really necessary to arrive at the conclusion that the bookworm in the corner tends to pursue knowledge recreationally while the party people usually acquire it on a functional only basis?
The Meyer’s Briggs system itself is a largely speculative means of categorizing people currently fashionable at the office. I definitely find it to have merit based on my own personal experience, but I don’t exactly see it as a sacred cow.
indeed,the theory of socionics is far more accurate.Anyway,you refer at two extremes and i have to admit that i am on the recreational bookworm side and it is harmful,as well,because i am constantly being told that i will die alone.The difference is that I hurt myself and a couple of first-degree relatives whereas the party people can hurt much more people but not themselves!
I am in a critical thought process most of the time. But I sometimes wish I had more #Sales balls” And To “Get Things Done” faster. I observed one apprentice UK 3thirdseason episode noon and in this one their task is to sell Candy at Zoo. One team sold Lolipops to kids on a Zoo for £3 each and the one woman being fired feel as she had a hard time to sell this of overpriced candy. I I am the complete soulmate! I know I have this understanding of so many intresting subjects that could work out for me!
Well on a note the only true means is in learnning. To find and grasp and get it in, to take somes seeds with me and use them later on.
MerryXmas
Johan///
One good post among many others on this site. It supports my awkward feeling about being advised to question the goal of searching for information. Now I fully see this is all done from the extraverted standpoint, actually addressing extraverts, that there must be some socially driven goal to it; in stead it can exist for its own sake. It’s always good to see a back-up. I also believe learning is the ultimate goal of everything we (look to) experience. (It’s funny, as for extraverts this tends to be the other way around).
I love your blog mate. I only wish the smart ones were more socially successful!
I am an extrovert and I consider learning an end unto itself. Where did you get this distinction? It has not born out in my life. I have a degree in philosophy where I studied, predominantly with other extroverts, for the pure pleasure of learning. Do you have any evidence to back up these claims?
Do you have any evidence that your philosophy department contained primarily extroverts? Did you conduct Meyers Briggs typology tests on them and verify the results with certified authorities? Was your sample statistically significant? For all I know you could be lying to me… We could go on playing the evidence game. This is the heady stuff of pure academia!
Based on your personal observations, your philosophy department had a lot of extroverts. This suggests that that this one guy’s introvert blog is way off base. I’m willing to accept this as a premise for your argument. There has to be some degree of charity and tacit understanding or we’re just wasting our time.
Based on my personal observations, the bookworms, the people passionate about learning to the point of obsession are introverts. They are by necessity introverts because being successful in social life requires huge expenditures of time and energy. To be an extrovert, people and interaction with people are the overriding priority and the source of life’s meaning. As such, extroverts tend to engage in learning processes as they relate to the people in their life and their social status. This isn’t to say that they don’t enjoy it at all, it can of course be a pleasureful experience, but they wouldn’t be doing it if the process did not fulfill some tangible goal related to their social life.
Maybe you and your colleagues were outliers of these tendencies, but in general the profile of a relentlessly autodidactic, bibliophilic person is not that of a people person. This is because one must spend a lot of time away from people to have these key traits.
Outstanding blog and outstanding post. As a fellow introvert who loves to learn for its own sake and for relaxation/recreation, it’s very baffling and/or aggravating to be told by an extrovert “your problem is that you think too much,” “you analyze things and you shouldn’t” or even “what good is that reading or learning going to do you?” “You’re just wasting time,” etc.
By the way, LM, re the philosophy degree and being an extrovert, don’t mistake heavy participation in whatever form – written or verbal – for extroversion. We introverts are not necessarily silent all the time, and introversion is not an all-or-nothing trait; rather, there are degrees of introversion just as there are degrees of extraversion. Get any of introverts into a situation where he/she can learn and is passionately interested in the subject or topic at hand and the talking, tone, and amount of participation can make you think you’re in a bunch of extraverts! The difference will be, we introverts will need some quiet time or downtime later to process all that has been said and thought. We need to recharge. An extravert, however, will seek out more stimulation of some kind and be ready to party or videogame into the whatever constitutes “night.”
I’ve heard all of the ‘wasting time’ lines including ‘You’re just a dabbler,’ and ‘What were you doing all day?’ , ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,’ ‘You read too much.’ I don’t usually bother to try to explain because I wouldn’t be able to bridge the disconnect and I’d end up needlessly creating a conflict in the process.
Believe me, I become a social machine whenever I find people I can engage with. It’s like I’m making up for lost time. So great is my response to meeting someone with whom I can connect, I can be overzealous.
As I’ve noted in other posts, the main difference seems not to be socialization in itself. For extroverts, social life is an end in itself. For introverts, social life is oriented towards a goal, a purpose. When an introvert finds common interests and potential for exchange of information, their appetite for conversation becomes insatiable.
Then, of course, we can spend days or even weeks mulling over everything we learned. It’s time to meet again when the contents of the last discussion have been digested to the fullest and hunger has returned.
I agree with the extrovert above. I’ve always been an extrovert, as are all my friends, yet we all read rabidly. At the moment I am reading three books, yet am able to balance that with an active social life. While I’m not condemning introverts I do believe it is unfair to categorize all extroverts as people who party all the time, never crack a book, and who will live a paler life devoid of the pleasures of literary enlightenment.
When did I ever write that extroverts never crack a book or are incapable of enjoying reading?
My argument is: Extroverts tend to put social interaction and social goals before personal goals of reading and knowledge acquisition.
I don’t think extroverts are all party animals. They’re just much more likely to be.
You have responded with an anecdote concerning you and your friends. However, I’m talking about the macroscale, the larger patterns.
Do you feel that you and your friends represent most extroverts? If we are to discuss on the level of anecdote, I will contribute my own:
I’ve met very few extroverts who read ‘rabidly’ unless they’re studying for something that will guarantee them social status. Such rabid study in my experience is almost invariably underpinned by raw social ambition.
I can’t help but note that the last line of your response is dripping with sarcasm. You obviously feel as though I have been condescending and haughty.
I do see Subtle values as a natural opposite to those that prevail on the extroverted Surface of society. Thus, a somewhat pejorative tone is inevitable.
mike,
Your comment has caused me to ponder a bit more:
You speak of balancing the pursuit of knowledge with your active social life.
This is exactly why extroverts are going to be the amateurs compared to a devoted introvert scholar.
I’m not sure if you know what rabid obsession means until you’ve let ‘balance’ slide askew and totally submerged yourself. Until you’ve simply forgotten all else out of sheer rapture.
Until you’ve actually chosen to avoid company because you felt deep inside that the project at hand was far more important.
Telling me about how you’re able walk a multi-tasking tightrope between a thriving social life and three daunting tomes tells me what I need to know.
You sound as though you are part of a generation that believes: “I can do it/have it all.”
It’s all the rage right now for people to forget the reality of opportunity cost:
Every thing we choose to spend our time on means sacrificing something else.
Our time here in this world is very short. We must choose carefully.
You seem to believe that ‘balance’ means doubling the amount of things you can do. However, if you don’t have the focus, you’re not putting in the hours, and you don’t have the undivided passion you(and other extroverts) are going to get buried by the introvert pros.
I’ve met plenty of extroverts who are extremely competent in socially approved specialties, but I notice their knowledge nearly always ends at the bounds of immediate usefulness no matter how distinguished they might be.
An introvert has the same problem trying succeed in the extrovert social realm. We haven’t the passion for it and we haven’t put in the time it takes to be able to perform all the basic operations without having to stop and think. We might even become highly proficient at certain aspects of the social world as a means to an end. Even so, we’ll never acquire either the breadth or depth of a true socialite.
I think this blog is great. it really defines an introvert. we are not anti-social type of people but it seems so to extraverts. we interact with whom ever we want to interact with.
as for the learning, we are drivin by intrinsic motivation much more than an extrinsic. on the other hand, its more of an extrinsic than intrinsic (with some exceptions).
Very encouraging words for the introvert. I guess it is a matter of understanding your strengths and utilizing them in the networking scenario. We don’t need to be the “life of the party” or the ”center of attention” in order to get what we need from the networking experience. We just need to know how to use the tools we already have. You can find some other good tips for the introvert from Paul Aaron Travis at:
http://relationshipcapital.co/op/?utm_src=bl
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