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Huh? There are still plenty of hunter gatherers around that don't hunt or gather shoulder to shoulder and neither do farmers or shepherds. Communal living did n

Huh? There are still plenty of hunter gatherers around that don't hunt or gather shoulder to shoulder and neither do farmers or shepherds. Communal living did not mean spending all your time in company of others.

vinceguidry 9y ago
If you weren't, you generally were working. A lot of that was accomplished with others too. All I'm saying is, that the things introverts take for granted today, like the ability to opt out of social hierarchy, was not available to most people throughout history.
- projektir 9y ago
  I don't really see why you couldn't walk away for some period of time, and something tells me plenty of people did. Not to mention, we don't know that much about those time periods in general, so this seems like an odd statement to make. "Well, it was a lot worse before, so you should be happy!" is a terrible message on multiple levels.
  - janlaureys 9y ago
    Last week a documentary aired about our (Belgian) National Rail Service. They interviewed the "punctuality manager" and he was kind of angry about how all personnel wants fancy IT infrastructure and better tablets and integrated systems that communicate quickly and smart. He was angry because when he started working carbon paper had just been invented and how much harder his job was back then. I thought dinosaurs were extinct but that guy proved me wrong.
  - vinceguidry 9y ago
    > "Well, it was a lot worse before, so you should be happy!" is a terrible message on multiple levels. That wasn't my intent at all, rather to add weight to the thesis of the article. Aloneness is something humans naturally seek out, not something to fear.
- samastur 9y ago
  I am guessing you are not an introvert yourself. We certainly cannot opt out of social hierarchy and being one does not mean I want to be alone every waking moment. It does mean however that I like and need to be alone some of the time (alone, not idle). I happen to like being idle some of the time too, because I think it makes me more creative in the long run, but I don't actually need it otherwise.

vinceguidry 9y ago

If you weren't, you generally were working. A lot of that was accomplished with others too. All I'm saying is, that the things introverts take for granted today, like the ability to opt out of social hierarchy, was not available to most people throughout history.

projektir 9y ago
I don't really see why you couldn't walk away for some period of time, and something tells me plenty of people did. Not to mention, we don't know that much about those time periods in general, so this seems like an odd statement to make. "Well, it was a lot worse before, so you should be happy!" is a terrible message on multiple levels.
- janlaureys 9y ago
  Last week a documentary aired about our (Belgian) National Rail Service. They interviewed the "punctuality manager" and he was kind of angry about how all personnel wants fancy IT infrastructure and better tablets and integrated systems that communicate quickly and smart. He was angry because when he started working carbon paper had just been invented and how much harder his job was back then. I thought dinosaurs were extinct but that guy proved me wrong.
- vinceguidry 9y ago
  > "Well, it was a lot worse before, so you should be happy!" is a terrible message on multiple levels. That wasn't my intent at all, rather to add weight to the thesis of the article. Aloneness is something humans naturally seek out, not something to fear.
samastur 9y ago
I am guessing you are not an introvert yourself. We certainly cannot opt out of social hierarchy and being one does not mean I want to be alone every waking moment. It does mean however that I like and need to be alone some of the time (alone, not idle). I happen to like being idle some of the time too, because I think it makes me more creative in the long run, but I don't actually need it otherwise.