Introverts vs. Extroverts

     

     Introverts. A third to a half of the seven billion people who live on this planet are introverts. Yet, we live in a culture that sees extroverts as the best personality. Schools and places of work often offer an environment that is more suited to extroverts. In the TED talk by Susan Cain, she presents the perfect way to fix the issue of the extrovert majority. We work together to find a middle ground somewhere that creates a perfect balance between introverts and extroverts that allows both of them to work together and benefit from each other. 

     The main reason that Susan Cain gave this TED talk was to educate, encourage, and inform. She gave research on the topic, establishing ethos and logos, through the use of statistics. This was primarily used to inform and educate her audience on introversion and extroversion, what do they mean, and how do they differ in their function in society. Introverts tend to be very creative and think of really good solutions to problems whereas extroverts love to socialize and share their own experiences with others. The speaker's other purpose was to encourage. She wanted to encourage the linking of introvert and extrovert and how we could help balance out each other. She did not pose an argument but rather encouraged the reader to take a stance on what she was saying. This is the same with any other form of media. It does not have to provide an argument but its audience can take a stance on anything.

     I believe that we as a society need to balance out each others characteristics and then we will be better untied as a whole. If someone is a bit quieter than you, and thinks a lot, ask them what they think. You never know how that one person could affect you or what they could share with you. If you enjoy talking to people, do not expect that everyone is going to want to talk to you as well. Everyone is different and once we realize this and put it into our own perspective then we are going to cooperate better with people. 

While watching the TED talk, I did not know what side I was on, introvert or extrovert. I took a personality quiz found here: Introvert vs. Extrovert Personality Quiz, and discovered I was ambiverted (scored a 45%), which means I fall just about in the middle of the personality spectrum, while leaning a bit toward introverted. How often in society do we want to label everyone into one of two categories? We need to realize that we are humans and do not fit into perfectly neat and organized categories. I liked that in the TED talk, the speaker mentioned that it did exist and not everyone was totally introverted or extroverted.