The World is Not Kind to Introverts

The world is not kind to introverts. You know, those people (like me) who don't really enjoy large groups, who would rather be alone, and for whom dealing with other humans is exhausting.

Why? Because people do pretty much everything in groups. You want a job, you have to deal with people: co-workers, customers, bosses, subordinates. Unless you can make a living at your solo art such as writing, you have to deal with people in your work.

It's always been this way. Even back in caveman days people congregated together for mutual protection and cooperation. You might be able to gather alone, but hunting anything bigger than a rabbit probably required cooperation. You aren't going to bring down that woolly mammoth by your self.

And, of course, Og the extrovert caveman, got all the cavegirls.

As an introvert myself, I find technology is helping. I can buy gas without having to interact with a human. If I can send an email or a text rather then calling someone, I will.

Give me more of that as A.I. improves. Of course, if A.I. is indistinguishable from a person, then will the introvert know or care?

Introverts must have figured out a way to cope. We haven't been bred out of the population so we must be reproducing, passing our introverted genes down to the next generation. And this must have been going on since Og got all the cavegirls. We got the cavegirl who liked to spend her days reading the wall paintings. You know, the introvert cavegirl.

Most jobs where you can be most successful seem to require extroversion. Or at least being able to fake it. But at the end of the day the extrovert wants to go out for drinks. The introvert wants to go home and recover. Who is going to gain the favor of the extrovert boss, the raises, the big pay? Yeah, the extrovert.

I don't think there's a way to solve this. I suppose we could have a federal level Department of Introverts. But then we'd all not want to talk to each other.