Introversion- along with its cousins sensitivity, seriousness, and shyness- is now a second-class personality trait, somewhere between a disappointment and a pathology. Introverts living in the Extrovert Ideal are like women in a man's world, discounted because of a trait that goes to the core of who they are. Extroversion is an enormously appealing personality style, but we've turned it into an oppressive standard to which most of us feel we must conform.

When you go to a football game and someone offers you a beer [...], they're really saying hi, have a glass of extroversion.

What if you love knowledge for its own sake, not necessarily as a blueprint to action? What if you wish there were more, not fewer reflective types in the world?

Cross the street to avoid making aimless chitchat with random acquaintances.

Introverts need to trust their gut and share their ideas as powerfully as they can.

I think the shyness one feels in childhood is often overcome with time. There are children who hide behind their parents' legs, but you don't see grown-ups hiding behind people. It just doesn't happen. I mean, not that often. People develop social skills over time.

The pressure to entertain, to sell ourselves, and never to be visibly anxious keeps ratcheting up.