Why so extroverted?

Kyriakos

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Most people seem to be (by degree) more extroverted than introverted, and also among introverts it is more usual to be introverted to a smaller rather than larger degree; very few introverts will be (eg) full schizoid. Given that being mostly aware and/or interested in the sensory world and extroverted seems to be more common, would you say that this is (by now) not so much out of actual need to be aware of external dangers and sources of satisfaction, but more about ease? Maybe being extroverted is easier (given you don't actually need to control your senses to reveal sensory material, unlike with thinking so as to reveal notional material), or maybe it is just more productive and healthy.
Yet imo all material are partly notional anyway, regardless of being so consciously or not. You don't have to think about how you can move to reach a chair so as to sit down, yet the ability to do all (move, identify the chair, differentiate it from other stuff etc) is mental and not sensory; the sensory part is only formed by the external objects, while the identification and reaction is mental.
Not that the above is anything new, of course - in general this is usually referred to as 'idealism', though that is a huge over-category of philo stuff. Yet imo it is likely that all material identified are identified only by forming fossils in the world of thought, which in turn tie to those material (this is so not only for external objects, but for internal ones too; ie for thoughts or parts of thoughts). So in the end you just swim about in an ocean of notional stuff, which are interlinked in ways that cannot realistically be fully accounted for past some general level.
If the above is true, though, how exactly does being extroverted have a biological positive value? I mean one can go about happily for a time, yet running blindfolded in a forest will only be good up until you hit a tree. Maybe biology is to some extent only directing its "sights" on ephemeral stuff, and happiness or productivity under some circumstances (most young people are carefree and would not stand to gain anything by massive introversion). It is also probably true that remnants of biological safeguards of such a type are visible, eg fear of various unlikely (by now) predators or antipathy towards sounds (such as screams) which could attract their attention. Yet i think that ultimately the human mind is more of an oceanic abyss of connections and sets, which always rise to form waves and attract attention only to the waves rather than to the massive watery mass below.
I don't think that being extroverted is a bonus, unless one is a butterfly :)
 
Yes, though it goes without saying that introverts do that too...
Yes, I know. But there are some people who are so completely introverted that they have no interest in such things, or can't imagine themselves ever doing so because of extreme shyness, etc. (there's a similar discussion I've been reading on another forum and that point came up).
 
It isn't at all a point of contention that extroverted people (all other things equal) will find this easier. Yet by itself it probably doesn't account for why extroversion (in degrees) is so much more common that its antithesis, imo :) For starters, introversion/extroversion do not get decided upon (or not entirely), and neither do they first appear or stabilize in puberty.
 
Yes, I know. But there are some people who are so completely introverted that they have no interest in such things, or can't imagine themselves ever doing so because of extreme shyness, etc. (there's a similar discussion I've been reading on another forum and that point came up).
Or crippling fear of rejection....

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Or crippling fear of rejection....

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Don't forget the crippling fear of acceptance. I can only be around people in informal settings for a few hours before I start to crave solitude and it feels bad when people feel rejected because I avoid them during my cave hermit spells.

I tried to form a support group for likeminded people but I quit showing up after the first meeting.
 
That's a lot of thoughts for wondering why sharing is better.
 
Your thoughts are smarter because you had thoughts shared your way, and my thoughts are better because you shared them with me. So obviously there's a humanity-optimizing dynamic balance between a bias toward solitude and a bias toward togetherness.
 
Your thoughts are smarter because you had thoughts shared your way, and my thoughts are better because you shared them with me. So obviously there's a humanity-optimizing dynamic balance between a bias toward solitude and a bias toward togetherness.

That isn't in tautology with introversion vs extroversion though. I did share my thoughts, which doesn't magically make me extroverted.
 
Society gives us reasons to interact with other people. A lot of these extroverts you see around are probably introverts who are trying really hard to fit in.

Yes. I have met a number of people who even say as much. Mostly women - cause it seems to be even harder for females to be openly introverted in modern society.
 
Society gives us reasons to interact with other people. A lot of these extroverts you see around are probably introverts who are trying really hard to fit in.

And a lot of the introverts are at home by themselves which is why they appear less common.
 
Society gives us reasons to interact with other people. A lot of these extroverts you see around are probably introverts who are trying really hard to fit in.

So true.
:lol:

I'm "naturally" introverted, but I've learned to force myself to pretend to be more extroverted. Makes life much easier.
 
I'm pretty strongly introverted and even I enjoy social interaction, it's just I need it mostly in small doses. I need quite a bit of "downtime" and often just exchanging pleasantries with people at work is enough to socially exhaust me and make me want to spend the rest of the day alone.
 
Being introverted doesn't mean you are a hermit. I actually know more introverted people than extroverted ones.
 
If the above is true, though, how exactly does being extroverted have a biological positive value?
Well your whole post is demonstrating that too much introversion in the direction of dealing with symbolic thought and you're off the rails, without making any case that too much extraversion leads you away from being able to think. But even if somehow you needed to be alone to produce the spontaneous emergence of good thinking at the needed level for good outcomes, that wouldn't necessitate introversion, just some time alone.

But I reject that universalizing premise. It's not like people aren't creating spontaneous/creative symbolic categorization in conversation.
 
Right so too much introversion and you're in la la land not testing your ideas but leveraging your beliefs further and further from a physical reality.
[If the above is true, though, how exactly does being extroverted have a biological positive value?
Well your whole post is demonstrating that too much introversion in the direction of dealing with symbolic thought and you're off the rails, without making any case that too much extraversion leads you away from being able to think. But even if somehow you needed to be alone to produce the spontaneous emergence of good thinking at the needed level for good outcomes, that wouldn't necessitate introversion, just some time alone.

It's not like people aren't creating spontaneous/creative symbolic categorization in conversation.

Lol, keep at it bro.
 
I will indulge your intellectual masochism when you ask.
 
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