I was recently thinking about two very interesting scientific discoveries told about in The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olson Laney, Psy.D. The main one was about the path that thoughts and ideas go through in the brain. For some people, the idea passes through several places along a pathway in the brain until is processed completely, then can optionally be expressed in spoken words. For other people, the thought goes through one place, then has to be spoken before it can continue onto the other places on the path that allow it to get fully processed. The author admits that overlap does occur and that each type can process things like the other, but this is the general rule. Needless to say, those who usually have to finish processing a thought before they can say it are usually introverts (often quiet people), and those who usually have to express the idea before they can finish processing it are extroverts (talkative people).
Yes, I am an introvert. I usually don't like saying something until I've thought about it first and am pretty sure of what I'm talking about. And all my life I've heard about all of the disadvantages of being introverted. For one, processing when others are speaking can make a person appear slow or as if they aren't thinking:-(. And sometimes introverts (like me) tend to not even give their opinions until asked. I think introverts aren't slow at all, and have a lot of processing and evaluation going on in their brains when they aren't speaking, and here is a book to prove it:-). Haha! Another problem is that when one doesn't talk right away, the conversation moves on, and the introvert unintentionally misses an opportunity to connect with other people, cause words seem to have a way of doing that. Worse yet, people's imaginations can run wild when someone isn't talking as much as everyone else. Yes, I've been suspected of all kinds of negative thoughts when all I was thinking was, "What an interesting conversation!" or "I really like these people!" :-)
Then, what is the advantage of being introverted? One idea of the advantage is the other part of this book that I was thinking about. That part is very flattering to introverts. In fact, the author explains that some people were created as introverts so that they could advise extroverts :-). While introverts are busy talking, introverts are busy thinking, putting things together, and coming up with great ideas. She even thinks that this is the reason that there are fewer introverts than extroverts. If everyone were thinking, nothing would get done, but if everyone were doing and talking before they process, disaster! Yes, this is very flattering, but I think there is some truth in it.
