I think by definition, introverts tend to not want to run things. Introverts tend to prefer contemplation over interaction, and interference or intervention are subsets of interaction, right? Even if that weren't true, the things one has to do to get to a position of being able to run things tend to be distasteful, in large amounts, to introverts.
Given the prior assumption that introverts are generally more intelligent than extroverts, we can actually make the argument that this has already happened. For example, rather than lobbying for lower prices from Microsoft or filing antitrust lawsuits, geeks invented GNU/Linux and created Google. Rather than attempting to play the extrovert's game of socializing and interacting face-to-face, introverts invented the internet, which is the single most pervasive form of communication today and happens to be a medium where anonymity is the norm and extroverts are unable to gain an advantage with their superior skills at non-verbal communication. I think technology has probably changed the world and the way people behave way more than any politician has.
Of course, that is assuming that geeks are mostly introverts, which is by no means a given. As a previous poster has said, the introvert/extrovert divide is probably a false dichotomy. I think it's more likely to be a spectrum than a binary categorization.
Comments
The question is, since introverts are so much smarter than extroverts, and dislike the way extroverts run things, why don't introverts run things?
I think by definition, introverts tend to not want to run things. Introverts tend to prefer contemplation over interaction, and interference or intervention are subsets of interaction, right? Even if that weren't true, the things one has to do to get to a position of being able to run things tend to be distasteful, in large amounts, to introverts.
Right, but smart people should be able to run things passively. I.e. through influence vs direct intervention.
It takes even more cleverness to run things the introvert way, than to just abstain from any kind of involvement.
Given the prior assumption that introverts are generally more intelligent than extroverts, we can actually make the argument that this has already happened. For example, rather than lobbying for lower prices from Microsoft or filing antitrust lawsuits, geeks invented GNU/Linux and created Google. Rather than attempting to play the extrovert's game of socializing and interacting face-to-face, introverts invented the internet, which is the single most pervasive form of communication today and happens to be a medium where anonymity is the norm and extroverts are unable to gain an advantage with their superior skills at non-verbal communication. I think technology has probably changed the world and the way people behave way more than any politician has.
Of course, that is assuming that geeks are mostly introverts, which is by no means a given. As a previous poster has said, the introvert/extrovert divide is probably a false dichotomy. I think it's more likely to be a spectrum than a binary categorization.