Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

[Cosmic]

It would be interesting to name some extroverts that were inventors. Can anyone think of any?

[AJ]

Cosmic-found one! well, Google did-but I buy it- Benjamin Franklin

[Cosmic]

I also thought of Thomas Edison.

[Cosmic]

Let's go back and review the book a little, because it seems to me we read it but haven't discussed it very much.

So here are some notes that I highlighted
Quiet
Extrovert favour quick discussion even at the risk of being wrong.
Winners curse
The winner's curse is a phenomenon that may occur in common value auctions with incomplete information. In short, the winner's curse says that in such an auction, the winner will tend to overpay. The winner may overpay or be "cursed" in one of two ways: 1) the winning bid exceeds the value of the auctioned asset such that the winner is worse off in absolute terms; or 2) the value of the asset is less than the bidder anticipated, so the bidder may still have a net gain but will be worse off than anticipated.[1] However, an actual overpayment will generally occur only if the winner fails to account for the winner's curse when bidding (an outcome that, according to the revenue equivalence theorem, need never occur).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winner%2...

Television pundit
A pundit (sometimes called Talking Head) is someone who offers to mass media his or her opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically political analysis, the social sciences, technology or sport) on which they are knowledgeable (or can at least appear to be knowledgeable), or considered a scholar in said area. The term has been increasingly applied to popular media personalities.[1] In certain cases, it may be used in a derogatory manner as well, as the political equivalent of ideologue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Televisi...
This leads to the:
In an Abilene paradox a group of people collectively decide on a course of action that is counter to the preferences of many of the individuals in the group.[1][2] It involves a common breakdown of group communication in which each member mistakenly believes that their own preferences are counter to the group's and, therefore, does not raise objections. A common phrase relating to the Abilene paradox is a desire to not "rock the boat".

[Cosmic]

Chapter 3
Peter Drucker
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Dr...
THE BEST CEO that he worked for had no charisma, and little use for the term or what it signified.
So who does benefit from Bull $#!+ers?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cent...
Episodes[edit]

1. Happiness Machines (17 March 2002)
2. The Engineering of Consent (24 March 2002)
3. There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed (31 March 2002)
4. Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering (7 April 2002)
Overview[edit]

"This series is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy." —Adam Curtis' introduction to the first episode.
The business and political world uses psychological techniques to read, create and fulfill the desires of the public, to make their products or speeches as pleasing as possible to consumers and citizens. Curtis raises the question of the intentions and roots of this fact. Where once the political process was about engaging people's rational, conscious minds, as well as facilitating their needs as a society, the documentary shows how by employing the tactics of psychoanalysis, politicians appeal to irrational, primitive impulses that have little apparent bearing on issues outside of the narrow self-interest of a consumer population.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x_YLy6yZeaw
So it make sense that a company might hire a person because they have that pundit image and then regret it later.

[Cosmic]

Chapter 4 Group Think
Berney The Century Of The Self leads to GROUP THINK Propaganda
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an incorrect or deviant decision-making outcome. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative ideas or viewpoints, and by isolating themselves from outside influences.
Loyalty to the group requires individuals to avoid raising controversial issues or alternative solutions, and there is loss of individual creativity, uniqueness and independent thinking. The dysfunctional group dynamics of the "ingroup" produces an "illusion of invulnerability" (an inflated certainty that the right decision has been made). Thus the "ingroup" significantly overrates their own abilities in decision-making, and significantly underrates the abilities of their opponents (the "outgroup").
Antecedent factors such as group cohesiveness, faulty group structure, and situational context (e.g., community panic) play into the likelihood of whether or not groupthink will impact the decision-making process.

Groupthink is a construct of social psychology, but has an extensive reach and influences literature in the fields of communication studies, political science, management, and organizational theory,[1] as well as important aspects of deviant religious cult behaviour such as psychiatry.[2]
Most of the initial research on groupthink was conducted by Irving Janis, a research psychologist from Yale University.[3] Janis published an influential book in 1972, which was revised in 1982.[4][5] Later studies have evaluated and reformulated his groupthink model.[6][7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink

[Cosmic]

AJ wrote: "Cosmic-found one! well, Google did-but I buy it- Benjamin Franklin"
Even if he was an extrovert he had to enjoy spending time thinking. He had to make time to think. And let's face it it wasn't that hard back then to converse with yourself without the phone ringing or media devises interrupting your thoughts or someone cutting in front of you as you ride your horse. He read a lot when he was younger writing in his brothers printing shop. I kinda think of that as someone that is more introvert. I also know that you can grow out of awkward personality traits so they are not notice when you get older.
For instance Albert Einstein didn't talk till he was four, but this didn't prevent him from talking later and was no reflection on his ability to adapt into a speaker.

[Cosmic]

In chapter 4 she talks about the importance of pair bonding which is called human bonding on wiki
Human bonding
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Human bonding is the process of development of a close, interpersonal relationship. It most commonly takes place between family members or friends,[1] but can also develop among groups such as sporting teams and whenever people spend time together. Bonding is a mutual, interactive process, and is different from simple liking.
Bonding typically refers to the process of attachment that develops between romantic partners, close friends, or parents and children. This bond is characterized by emotions such as affection and trust. Any two people who spend time together may form a bond. Male bonding refers to the establishment of relationships between men through shared activities that often exclude females. The term female bonding is less frequently used, but refers to the formation of close personal relationships between women.[2]

The question is whether these corporate teams or classrooms create a nurturing environment or hostile? Even though the author goes to the coffee shop to write this book she does not have to perform socially. She can use the energy of the crowd but doesn't become involved.

What do you think about the difference in this?

[AJ]

So I've finished the book. As I stated at the beginning, part of the impetus for picking it up is that I'm dating a very strong introvert and as a strong extravert, find myself surprised by his approach or response to the world. Definitely found his perspective echoed through the book, which was interesting. Particularly this concept of being self-aware of being the quiet one at a party and being stressed by it - how it's circular. Although, upon reflection, I sometimes leave a party wondering if I talked too much or was too loud.

Also heard from an introvert at work about how it was affirming. Definitely gave me some things to chew on that may be useful at work. For the most part just reinforcing ideas that had been introduced in the MBTI Team training I've taken - especially the idea that being extemporaneous in expressing thoughts is closely tied to your I/E type.

Mostly it was interesting to consider the concept of cultural norms - either how they change or how they differ around the world. Also very helpful as a sometimes volunteer teacher to consider how learning activities can sometimes be devised that are counter-productive. I've been taught to think in terms or oral, written and kinetic learners; this provides a different prism for considering learning preferences.

As a mild hypochondriac, at one point I had myself convinced I was one of the rare "highly sensitive extraverts" ;-) Got over that once I got past that chapter.

This was my first buddy read (well, first one I actually read the book) - thanks everyone!

[Cosmic]

AJ wrote: "So I've finished the book. As I stated at the beginning, part of the impetus for picking it up is that I'm dating a very strong introvert and as a strong extravert, find myself surprised by his app..."

Enjoyed your review.