The Shy Connector
Slightly offtopic: I think a lot of introverts are considered shy unfairly.<p>I'm an introvert myself, and I've been always described as "shy", but I don't think I am. I have never had any problems with meeting new people, even if they supposedly "outrank" me. (In fact, as an anecdote, on my first job interview the interviewer remarked she was surprised at how relaxed I was).<p>I tend to be quiet for two reasons. First, do you know that common saying that says that a real friend is someone who can sit with you in silence? Yeah, I can sit with <i>anyone</i> in silence. Never feels awkward to me.<p>Second, I hate, truly hate small talk. When I watched George Carlin's People are Boring[1] I found myself violently agreeing. And since I instinctively follow the golden rule in those cases, and I know my interests are unusual, I tend to avoid boring others by staying quiet.<p>What I really need is a way to distinguish true interest from politeness. But unfortunately that seems to be far too common a defect.<p>Any other introverts who don't consider themselves shy?<p>[1]: <a href="http://youtu.be/eyWsFfd9pqE" rel="nofollow">http://youtu.be/eyWsFfd9pqE</a>