[Paleopsych] introverts, extraverts

[Michael Christopher]

>>Introverts are marginalized because they are more 
comfortable on the margins. Extraverts love the
spotlight and flourish there, so naturally they tend
to lead. Wishing it were otherwise is irrational.<<

--The issue isn't who wants to be or not be in the
spotlight. It's how a society filters information and
makes decisions as a mass. When the introverts have no
way of getting their message out (through a
sympathetic extrovert, for example, or through
writing), extraverted perception skews reality. 

Any system tends to put more and more energy into
sustaining itself, and a system based on ego will
eventually put so much energy into sustaining ego that
it loses information and can no longer engage in
smooth self-correction, leading to huge mistakes on
the historical timeline. Think about how much our
system would change if "the masses" were more focused
on science, philosophy, history and art than on Paris
Hilton and gossip news. With the loss of respect for
introverted perception, extraverts can create a
dangerously shallow world. With respect for
introverts, extraverts can create a system with the
integrity and the power of both, one that not only
recognizes the need for action but understands the
fruit of contemplation. We tend to polarize and give
up wisdom when we choose action, when we start putting
down or ignoring the introverts. These days, we call
them "hand-wringers", people who fret too much about
the moral intricacies of taking action in an uncertain
world. We throw their insights away, just as Hollywood
throws away the aged because a face that isn't pretty
cannot come with a voice that's true. The misfits of
society are easily ignored, because we mistake beauty
and status for truth.

Same problem if the perceptions of women are filtered
out, if the elderly are marginalized, or if one ethnic
or religious group writes the official history.
Something is lost in translation. Consider how the
spirituality of introverts has been marketed and
distorted by extraverts, leading to a few religions
controlling huge mindshare, with the solitary
imaginations of mystics limping along behind the
armies of God, unable to preserve the integrity of
their visions. Consider also how some of the greatest
visions in history (including the classical thinkers
like Socrates, et al) are swept aside in the attention
given to media celebrities. Is there a way to preserve
the perception of introverts in a system flooded by
shallow extraversion?

Michael



		
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