What I've Read -- Quiet: The Power of Introverts
Since finishing school, I've mostly been reading fun fiction books, but I remember a day before grad school when I used to read non-fiction for fun, too. Last week, I rediscovered my love for non-fiction when I picked up Susan Cain's bestseller, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Won't Stop Talking. I heard a lot about this book when it first came out, and as an introvert of the introspective research-oriented sort, I was pretty sure I knew what the book was all about before I read it, but the digital kindle version was on sale, so I thought I'd look into it. Then -- surprise -- I couldn't put it down!
This book provides a fascinating look at the history of the rise of the extravert ideal in America, and it is filled with neurological and psychological research about what makes introverts the way they are (as usual, it's a combination of nature and nurture, but the nature bits are strong enough to make me feel proud to say I was "born this way"). I also loved all the little tidbits of trivia: extraverts are more likely to cheat in a relationship; had the warning of introverts been heeded in the housing bubble crisis, disaster could have been avoided; extraverts are more likely to take risks; both introverts and extraverts perform best in a series of questions when they take their time to think about the answers, but extraverts are less likely to do so; modern classrooms and work spaces are designed for extraverts; introverts respond more dramatically to both negative and positive influences in childhood, making them more prone to depression under bad circumstances and more prone to do well under good circumstances than their extraverted peers under the same circumstances -- and the list could go on.
I learned a lot about myself and how to maximize my gifts and overcome my weaknesses through this book, but what surprised me most was how I could see all the ways in which I, an introvert, tend to favor extraverted students in my classroom through the types of activities and learning measures I put in place. Reading this book made me change the syllabus I was preparing for my summer class so that it better suited a wide range of temperaments.
Whether you're an introvert and want to learn how to unlock your "power...in a world that won't stop talking," or you are an extrovert with introverts in your life and you want to understand and love them, this book makes a clear, compelling, and convincing argument about the need to nurture the gifts of both introverts and extraverts in order to make a more balanced, thoughtful, and friendly society.
Watch Susan Cain's Ted Talk here.
This book provides a fascinating look at the history of the rise of the extravert ideal in America, and it is filled with neurological and psychological research about what makes introverts the way they are (as usual, it's a combination of nature and nurture, but the nature bits are strong enough to make me feel proud to say I was "born this way"). I also loved all the little tidbits of trivia: extraverts are more likely to cheat in a relationship; had the warning of introverts been heeded in the housing bubble crisis, disaster could have been avoided; extraverts are more likely to take risks; both introverts and extraverts perform best in a series of questions when they take their time to think about the answers, but extraverts are less likely to do so; modern classrooms and work spaces are designed for extraverts; introverts respond more dramatically to both negative and positive influences in childhood, making them more prone to depression under bad circumstances and more prone to do well under good circumstances than their extraverted peers under the same circumstances -- and the list could go on.
I learned a lot about myself and how to maximize my gifts and overcome my weaknesses through this book, but what surprised me most was how I could see all the ways in which I, an introvert, tend to favor extraverted students in my classroom through the types of activities and learning measures I put in place. Reading this book made me change the syllabus I was preparing for my summer class so that it better suited a wide range of temperaments.
Whether you're an introvert and want to learn how to unlock your "power...in a world that won't stop talking," or you are an extrovert with introverts in your life and you want to understand and love them, this book makes a clear, compelling, and convincing argument about the need to nurture the gifts of both introverts and extraverts in order to make a more balanced, thoughtful, and friendly society.
Watch Susan Cain's Ted Talk here.
Interesting. By the way, Susan Cain will be one of the speakers at the Global Leadership Summit (a conference for Christian leaders started by Bill Hybels, of Willow Creek church). I attended last year and was really challenged and encouraged. :-)
ReplyDeleteCool. She would be fun to see.
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