Photo by Difusa

Most people imagine that introvert is a synonym for shy, but it's more accurate to say that they're someone who is recharged by time spent alone, and drained by company. That definition fits me – it's not that I lack social skills or dislike time spent with others, I just have a limited stamina for social gatherings and thrive in one-to-one conversation and quiet time.

When I saw this old Atlantic article on caring for your introvert it rang very true. I don't agree with the complaints about oppression – in the computer industry introverts are well catered for – but if people understood more about introversion life would be a little easier. My friends have got used to the fact I like nothing better than just quietly hanging out with them, but that's confusing for a lot of people I meet. I'm not shy, and don't mean to come across as arrogant or stand-offish, I just lean towards a high signal-to-noise ratio in conversation, which means a high thinking-to-talking ratio too!