4 ms·

So now being an introvert, or just having to get work done is anti American activity? Simply because you are sitting next to me is not a valid reason to demand

• Zuider 10y ago
  It is not a valid reason, but it is an effective reason. It may not be right, but it is real, and one ought to have strategies in place to ameliorate this phenomenon. Extroverts cannot understand why you don't want to talk. As an extreme introvert myself, I have become used to being accused of rudeness, snobbery, hostility and general weirdness. Strangers and acquaintances become appreciably tense if I dare to produce a book, or abstract myself in thought. The trick is to set such people at ease. Show goodwill, talk about the weather for fifteen seconds max, and then switch off. The irony is that if Guido Menzo had taken the trouble to explain what he was writing, with the appropriate nerdish enthusiasm, he would have been guaranteed to be left alone for the rest of the flight.
  • tremon 10y ago
    The irony is that if Guido Menzo had taken the trouble to explain what he was writing, with the appropriate nerdish enthusiasm, he would have been guaranteed to be left alone for the rest of the flight. While I think this borders on victim-blaming, I can't help but smile broadly when I try to imagine the scene: woman with flight anxiety tries to connect with in-row neighbour, and unwittingly opens a can of algebraic worms, symbols and Greek letters.
    • Zuider 10y ago
      It is like a storyline from The Big Bang Theory with a slightly more obnoxious (if that is possible), scruffier version of Sheldon.