5 ms·

Being an introvert is fine. It didn't stop Isaac Newton or Emily Dickinson from doing great things. Forget about the frat. Go hack on a project that interests

by troymc 16y ago

Being an introvert is fine. It didn't stop Isaac Newton or Emily Dickinson from doing great things. Forget about the frat. Go hack on a project that interests you. Both you and the world will be better off for it.

inboulder 16y ago
"Isaac Newton or Emily Dickinson" funny you should have mentioned both of these folks, they both died virgins. The world might have been better, but they never got to experience an important part of being human.
- sigstoat 16y ago
  if accomplishment and getting laid were mutually exclusive, i'd say things worked out just fine for newton. since they're not, i feel a little sorry for the fellow, and it isn't obvious what you're trying to say, unless it is "you can't get laid except by joining a frat'
  - nandemo 16y ago
    Well, since they're not, why say "forget the frat"? That's what inboulder is replying to.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- jonursenbach 16y ago
  I wouldn't classify all introverts as being virgins.
  - grasshoper 16y ago
    Nor would I classify all introverts as being Isaac Newton.
- heed 16y ago
  Are you just making an observation or is there some significance to your comment?
- Jach 16y ago
  Be careful with that line of reasoning, especially when not everyone may have the same ideas of what is "an important part of being human". Using your brain to do physics/math/writing/programming seems more important an experience than having sex.
  - il 16y ago
    Isn't making a personal, emotional connection with another human being pretty universally considered an important part of being human? If you're one of those people who look down on the pursuit of sex as not worthy of their time/intelligence/effort replace "sex" with "love". Is doing math more important than experiencing love? Anyway, I think OP is making the point that it's perfectly possible to do great intellectual things, make a difference in the world, and still get laid regularly. So "I'm too busy doing math" isn't really a valid excuse.
    - metamemetics 16y ago
      Are you implying that Isaac Newton was having fun the wrong way? I fail to see the point. The most important thing to any organism or organization or complex system is survival, because everything that exists today got here by being good at existing. Isaac Newton found a way to achieve immortality, he just did it by reproducing his ideas on paper as opposed to making mini-clones of himself with his dick.
      - il 16y ago
        Wow, my comment must have hit a nerve. I wonder if the people downvoting me have ever experienced being in a good relationship. I don't mean meaningless sex, although that is great too, I mean an emotionally involved relationship. All I'm saying is that, although Newton accomplished great things, he would have felt more fulfilled and happier if he had also experienced a romantic relationship at some point. Now, obviously there exist some people that are asexual and have no innate desire for sex, and there's nothing wrong with that. However, I don't believe there is any healthy person in the world, no matter how introverted, who does not at some point desire a deep, meaningful relationship with another human being.
jodrellblank 16y ago
Being an introvert is fine. It didn't stop Isaac Newton or Emily Dickinson from doing great things. Or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cavendish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cavendish """Cavendish was silent and solitary, and was viewed as somewhat eccentric by many. He only spoke to his female servants by notes and formed no close personal relationships outside his family. By one account, Cavendish had a back staircase added to his house in order to avoid encountering his housekeeper because he was especially shy of women. His only social outlet was the Royal Society Club, whose members dined together before weekly meetings. Cavendish seldom missed these meetings, and was profoundly respected by his contemporaries. However his shyness made those who "sought his views... speak as if into vacancy. If their remarks were...worthy, they might receive a mumbled reply." Because of his asocial and secretive behaviour, Cavendish often avoided publishing his work, and much of his findings were not even told to his fellow scientists. In the late nineteenth century, long after his death, James Clerk Maxwell looked through Cavendish's papers and found things for which others had been given credit. Examples of what was included in Cavendish's discoveries or anticipations were Richter's Law of Reciprocal Proportions, Ohm's Law, Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures, principles of electrical conductivity (including Coulomb's Law), and Charles's Law of Gases."""

by troymc 16y ago

inboulder 16y ago

"Isaac Newton or Emily Dickinson" funny you should have mentioned both of these folks, they both died virgins. The world might have been better, but they never got to experience an important part of being human.

sigstoat 16y ago
if accomplishment and getting laid were mutually exclusive, i'd say things worked out just fine for newton. since they're not, i feel a little sorry for the fellow, and it isn't obvious what you're trying to say, unless it is "you can't get laid except by joining a frat'
- nandemo 16y ago
  Well, since they're not, why say "forget the frat"? That's what inboulder is replying to.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
jonursenbach 16y ago
I wouldn't classify all introverts as being virgins.
- grasshoper 16y ago
  Nor would I classify all introverts as being Isaac Newton.
heed 16y ago
Are you just making an observation or is there some significance to your comment?
Jach 16y ago
Be careful with that line of reasoning, especially when not everyone may have the same ideas of what is "an important part of being human". Using your brain to do physics/math/writing/programming seems more important an experience than having sex.
- il 16y ago
  Isn't making a personal, emotional connection with another human being pretty universally considered an important part of being human? If you're one of those people who look down on the pursuit of sex as not worthy of their time/intelligence/effort replace "sex" with "love". Is doing math more important than experiencing love? Anyway, I think OP is making the point that it's perfectly possible to do great intellectual things, make a difference in the world, and still get laid regularly. So "I'm too busy doing math" isn't really a valid excuse.
  - metamemetics 16y ago
    Are you implying that Isaac Newton was having fun the wrong way? I fail to see the point. The most important thing to any organism or organization or complex system is survival, because everything that exists today got here by being good at existing. Isaac Newton found a way to achieve immortality, he just did it by reproducing his ideas on paper as opposed to making mini-clones of himself with his dick.
    - il 16y ago
      Wow, my comment must have hit a nerve. I wonder if the people downvoting me have ever experienced being in a good relationship. I don't mean meaningless sex, although that is great too, I mean an emotionally involved relationship. All I'm saying is that, although Newton accomplished great things, he would have felt more fulfilled and happier if he had also experienced a romantic relationship at some point. Now, obviously there exist some people that are asexual and have no innate desire for sex, and there's nothing wrong with that. However, I don't believe there is any healthy person in the world, no matter how introverted, who does not at some point desire a deep, meaningful relationship with another human being.

jodrellblank 16y ago

Being an introvert is fine. It didn't stop Isaac Newton or Emily Dickinson from doing great things. Or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cavendish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cavendish """Cavendish was silent and solitary, and was viewed as somewhat eccentric by many. He only spoke to his female servants by notes and formed no close personal relationships outside his family. By one account, Cavendish had a back staircase added to his house in order to avoid encountering his housekeeper because he was especially shy of women. His only social outlet was the Royal Society Club, whose members dined together before weekly meetings. Cavendish seldom missed these meetings, and was profoundly respected by his contemporaries. However his shyness made those who "sought his views... speak as if into vacancy. If their remarks were...worthy, they might receive a mumbled reply." Because of his asocial and secretive behaviour, Cavendish often avoided publishing his work, and much of his findings were not even told to his fellow scientists. In the late nineteenth century, long after his death, James Clerk Maxwell looked through Cavendish's papers and found things for which others had been given credit. Examples of what was included in Cavendish's discoveries or anticipations were Richter's Law of Reciprocal Proportions, Ohm's Law, Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures, principles of electrical conductivity (including Coulomb's Law), and Charles's Law of Gases."""