12 ms·

I am not an introvert. I am just busy

298 points by mtabini 13y ago

jxf 13y ago
This story reminded me of the "Why you shouldn't interrupt developers" cartoon: http://i.imgur.com/PtMx9GJ.png http://i.imgur.com/PtMx9GJ.png
- girvo 13y ago
  I was in an interview on Monday, and the tech lead and I were having a good giggle about that exact cartoon! I told him about The Headphones Rule[0], and he thought it was an awesome idea. Funny coincidence. [0] http://theheadphonesrule.com/ http://theheadphonesrule.com/
  - michh 13y ago
    I wish that worked. I'm in an open plan office where I constantly need the headphone to drown out the noise all the other things happening (people talking to each other, marketing people making phone calls, people walking about, etc) so that'd mean I'd be constantly unapproachable. I'd actually like that, but I'm pretty sure my co-workers and employer wouldn't. A friend works in an office where headphones are even banned because they create too much of a barrier to talk to a co-worker. I'd go absolutely crazy there in less than a week.
    - ryandrake 13y ago
      Dealing with interruptions and distractions while remaining focused on the problem at hand is a valuable skill that takes time and effort to hone. Any hacker can write code while in a closed office, wearing headphones, shut off from the world. Great hackers can write code while E-mails come in, people drop by with questions, Julie over in BizDev is yacking on the phone with some vendor, and the PM is asking if you've filled out your TPS report this week.
      - enraged_camel 13y ago
        There is a great deal of research that says otherwise. You can start reading here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interruption_science http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interruption_science
      - Dewie 13y ago
        Maybe this will become a new "zen" thing - calm and collected in the midst of chaos. Though even though it might something that great programmers can do, they might be even more effective if they get to remove some of those distractions.
      - diminoten 13y ago
        I'm okay with not being a great hacker, then. I need my quiet.
    - diminoten 13y ago
      Is it weird that something as little as that is something I'd literally ignore and possibly get fired over?
      - michh 13y ago
        Not to me, but my perspective is far from the definition of normal ;)
  - Dewie 13y ago
    What if I don't want to be distracted by everything around me, but don't mind being interrupted if there is something they are wondering about? Then I might have to wear headphones with the usual volume, 'cause if I wear it half-way or something then I still get a bit distracted by everything around me. It's like leaving your door halfway open to signal that someone can come in if they want. I might not mind having a visit, but I might mind hearing all the noise, or curious looks from people passing by through the corridor. Hence the 'busy' sign to hang on the doorknob, when needed.
- adventureloop 13y ago
  Yeah that came to mind as well as this http://xkcd.com/602/ http://xkcd.com/602/.
  - mistermann 13y ago
    I don't quite catch what he's doing in the middle frames?
    - sukuriant 13y ago
      He zoned out of the world around him and distracted himself with either the project he was working on prior, or just a stream of consciousness around his get-out-of-too-many-words tool of counting
    - pronoiac 13y ago
      You mean, other than mentally retreating from the party? He's doing math around the reciprocals of primes. See http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/602:_Overstimulated http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/602:_Overstimulate... for more info.
kabdib 13y ago
My personal theory: For something really hard, you have to put in your time and think about the issue. It has to consume you. You can't hold decent conversations. Eventually that janitor in the back of your head wanders up to your mental whiteboard, looks at the problem, says "Harumph!" and scribbles down an answer, and you wake up in the middle of the night with the answer so obvious and a shriek on your lips. But there aren't any shortcuts, and the janitor is not at your beck and call.
- misframer 13y ago
  > You have to neglect things if you intend to get what you want done. There's no question about this. —Richard Hamming http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html
  - thenerdfiles 13y ago
    Humans aren't things[0]. Les choses sont contre nous. — [0]: http://synapses.co.za/report-on-resistentialism/ http://synapses.co.za/report-on-resistentialism/
    - JonnieCache 13y ago
      Is that page meant to be satire? Either way it's completely hilarious. A recommended read. I began to smell a rat when he started talking about wet sacks, but when he starts dropping the jam on the floor it becomes pretty clear. I love the ideas. I shall be sending it to all my most pretentious friends as soon as possible. Good to see that the french are still putting the work in. EDIT: it's from the 60s and written by an englishman. now it all makes sense. oh well. and I've just realised what "jean-marie ventre" is about. now I feel a fool.
- 6d0debc071 13y ago
  The Janitor visits me far more frequently when I set a 'You've spent an hour on this, hon' timer for a difficult problem. At which point it's time for me to go take a break, talk to other people, have a cup of tea. Then come back - take a brief look at the original problem - and then, if nothing occurs, to work on a related problem before coming back to it and seeing if I can make any more progress. Maybe it's just me, but protracted work on something I don't feel I'm making progress on seems to stop me thinking.
scoofy 13y ago
If you look on your phone, you might have a little app called "notes." I use that and still have a great time at parties.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- phantomb 13y ago
  Yeah. Party guy isn't busy, he's disorganized.
  - groby_b 13y ago
    If you take the story literally, yes. If you assume that the problem is slightly more complicated and the author simplified for the benefit of having a readable story, your little notes app does squat. If the solution for a complicated problem comes to you this way, you have managed to see dozens of moving parts at just the right time, from just the right angle, in your mind. It is incredibly hard to hold on to that, and writing it out in notes takes several pages. When that solution comes to you, you cling on to it for dear life until you can put it into a form that works - several pages of notes, a test proving your point, a large diagram. Whatever it is. None of those answers can be captured with a phone app.
    - phantomb 13y ago
      I'm skeptical that an insight can be both simple enough to spontaneously occur during a social outing AND complicated enough to require multiple pages of notes just to capture enough to remind you of the idea.
      - louthy 13y ago
        Quite, only an aide memoire is needed, not War and Peace.
      - groby_b 13y ago
        It's rare. It happens. The point is, words might not be the best way to capture your insight. You have _something_ in your mind, and it doesn't always translate into few words. To quote Blaise Pascal: "I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter."
austinhutch 13y ago
I'm an introvert and that doesn't prevent me from enjoying parties and being sociable. It irks me when introvert is used as a pejorative or like it is something people have to "cope" with.
- LogicHack 13y ago
  If you attend parties or go out for the sake of being social, you're not an introvert.
  - Windwaker 13y ago
    That's not accurate at all. Many introverts, like myself, like socializing and hanging out with friends, but "recharge" by spending time alone. I can enjoy myself at a party, whether I'm a wallflower or not, but after prolonged socializing I need to spend some time alone. Please do not mistake introversion for social anxiety.
    - cortesoft 13y ago
      Yes, I always interpreted introvert vs extrovert as being about where we get our energy from.... introverts get energy from being alone, while extroverts get energy from being with people.
    - thenerdfiles 13y ago
      Aye ! Susain Cain describes the distinction quite well[0]. Introvert/Extrovert describes how social intelligence relates to energy increase and decrease. Introverts are more rapidly exhausted in using their social intelligence, whereas extroverts are more rapidly refreshed when deploying their social intelligence. The "way we feel" about social encounters is a symptom of (and thus a correlation with) the rise and fall of energy as we are part of the scene — where typically when we are losing energy, we're less inclined to view the situation positively (social anxiety then is engendered), largely do to our own lack of introspection and the effects of our poor participation/adjustment. It's more costly for introverts to engage socially, and so the rewards (take aways) are strictly only harder to perceive. — [0]: http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts
chaz 13y ago
> Are they actually talking to me? Unbelievable. I can’t talk, Dan; can’t you see? I’m hanging to this idea by a thread as it is My problem with this story is that it makes it sounds like it's Dan's fault for walking up to the author at a party/social event. We've all been there -- an all-consuming problem or an unexpected moment of clarity. Or maybe you realize something that puts you into a sour mood. We can't expect those around us to be mind readers.
- cgriswald 13y ago
  That's not how I read it. I read that as Dan being the target of his frustration, not that he literally blamed Dan.
- spuz 13y ago
  You say the story makes it sound like Dan is at fault and at the same time you say "We've all been there" which suggests you don't actually believe the author is blaming Dan for interrupting his thoughts. What makes you think others will misinterpret the author's point of view when it's clear you were able to understand it? Language will always have many different possible interpretations - a smart reader will pick up on that just as you did.
castlegrove 13y ago
I totally get this. As one who works in a coworking space I have to fend off people all day. I love to talk, but not when I'm trying to write code. Some people don't realize that headphones are the universal sign of "I'm busy".
- rhizome 13y ago
  They realize it, they just think their interests are always more important.
- npizzolato 13y ago
  If people are distracting you, maybe you should, you know, have an actual conversation with them about it. Not everyone views headphones as the universal sign for being busy. Some people (myself included) just like listening to music while we work.
thenerdfiles 13y ago
I know a developer who once walked over to a business analyst to ask about an interesting ID in our database. She chatted with him for a bit, drew her question, then they bantered some. At the end of it, he recalled the interesting ID that she originally queried about, as they conversed, told her, then as she passed on to her next endeavor, her closing comment was, "Now let me try to remember that number all the way back to my desk." Now granted, this is just an ID — not a bug, an "idea" or something embedded in some complicated (dis)array of logic — but she engaged the person whom she asked, and through human interaction and grace, the two pulled out an answer together. Then she took it in strides that memory is up to her. I remember when I used to be more like her — and less like this antihuman, perpetually brooding, code-distressed, oh-can-you-leave-me-to-my-precious-mind sob-story archetype that you rage-hackers (again perpetually) perpetuate. Why do we romanticize this? It's becoming obnoxious — the glorification of obnoxiousness. Your mind is your garden, and no one owes you peace of mind. And if people wish to browse your garden, you should be absolutely fucking thrilled. Why are you propping up and romanticizing this "do no enter" sign at the entrance of your gardens? You know — there's a Java dev here that often times will start off an interruption with, "How can I provide you with outstanding customer service today?" How about this? Forget your "engineer" metaphor. Forget your "prodigious self-torment". If you want to fold to the Machines — that's YOUR M.O. Stop sharing with piss about it. Stop whining. Our job has one distinct role, and that's to protect EACH OTHER from this massively complicated world of machines. Do your goddamn fellow human a favor, and pay more attention to HUMANS than you do machines. Maybe your life will be filled with more spontaneity, warmth, and gifts — because all a fucking computer is going to give you is rules. One key subcomponent of our job as developers, programmers, etc. is Customer Service and that's because humans first. Why else is "human-readable" a thing?
- djur 13y ago
  Also, why go to a party if you're too busy to enjoy it? (Sincerely agreed.)
  - AdrianRossouw 13y ago
    social obligation?
cgriswald 13y ago
Fantastic read. I'm not a fan of the labels introvert and extrovert as they apply to people. However, I think as they apply to behaviors they are useful, and I found the fact that you didn't advocate for yourself to get out of there (possibly even at the expense of being rude) to be a bit introverted. Same with the idea that you usually "blow it" during conversation. (Alternatively, perhaps I am asocial.)
kirillzubovsky 13y ago
I just want to say, love the writing style!
sukuriant 13y ago
So, this guy went to a social event that he didn't want to go to because his mind was on work things and had been for a long, long time. [edit] I'm taking the stance that there was a good reason for his going. Otherwise the question is just "why did he go?"[/edit] Why wasn't he in the moment at the party? I suppose there's several reasons. I'm going to assume he was having a great time, someone that he was talking to left and then he wandered back into thought rather than going off to talk to someone else. That's fine, whatever. So, now I wonder where I'm supposed to go from here with this piece. The thing is this can't be about are getting flustered at people for interrupting your thought. It doesn't look like it. Therefore, I'm going to assume it's something like I'm doing right now: stream of consciousness. If that's the case, then, neat! I've been there! Very cool. Sorry it got awkward for you there. The other guy is a CEO, he understands being in thought all the time. "Just one sec, I gotta write this down" and then scribbling a bunch of notes wouldn't be too offensive to a man in charge of a whole company. He's done it plenty of times, and those ideas come at any random moment. I wouldn't be offended by a brief scribble before some proper salutations. After all, that CEO has now been given your undivided attention after about 5 seconds of scribbling (presuming you can write something short down that can be used to jog your memory). People like undivided attention. Makes them feel important, be they your boss, co-worker, friend, spouse or child. Now, what is this story being used for. "I am not an introvert. I am just busy." No, you're not busy. Or, at least, your busy-ness shouldn't be with work things right now. You're at a party and should be in party mode with your friends. It's kinda like a father going home and saying he's going to spend time with his children, only to completely space out when he's playing catch. His mind should have been on his children. Your time is with your friends, there. Not giving them your attention is rude to them. "I am not socially awkward / going through the motions. I had a sudden thought I need to write down 'real quick" but that wouldn't be as catchy of a title. There's those little notebooks that fit in front pockets that people buy and carry around. Maybe this is what those are for; or, as someone else in this thread pointed out, that's what the 'notes' app on your phone is for. I'd honestly not considered that is a reason, or if I have, I just re-realized that's what they can be for. Anyway, We can take this to some other situations where it wouldn't be acceptable to be sucked into this train of thought: a meeting about a different feature at the job you're working at. They want you present on their tasks, too. Live in the moment, be that completely absorbed in your current work task, or hanging out with your friends, laughing about stupid things, or hearing a friend talk about his story.
puppetmaster3 13y ago
Opposite is also true: I have nothing to do, let me call a meeting a blowhard.
dave_chenell 13y ago
This is perfect
peteforde 13y ago
You know, there's a time and a place for quiet reflection. If the author needed time to reflect, he should go for a walk — alone, not go to a party. I'm a shy introvert, but I see this fellow's problem a mile away: he needs to get better at saying no to people. Sure it's important to be present for social functions, and there's an art to "making an appearance" that is just part of playing the game. But if you're consciously aware that you should be somewhere else... GO. A room full of tech geeks will get this. Actually, they most likely won't notice that you're leaving. That particular neurosis is rooted in ego: part of you wants someone to notice that you're missing, so that you can be not just doing something important but be a hero about it. Deep down, we're all frequently irrational in similar ways. "I don't want to be alone, but I want to be left alone." - Stephen Fry
- dhfromkorea 13y ago
  "part of you wants someone to notice that you're missing, so that you can be not just doing something important but be a hero about it." => Besides the ego, there's also a cultural component. My Finnish friends tend to excel at leaving without saying goodbye or hugging, not because they have weaker ego but because that's a part of their culture. That said, in my culture (South Korea), your saying nothing when leaving will immediately strike people as socially incorrect or weird to say the least.
  - peteforde 13y ago
    Finland is indeed the best place on earth to live if you just want to be left alone. Also: saunas. As for the cultural differences regarding the ritual of leaving a social event, I really enjoy hearing about how things happen in other places. I would have had no idea. That said, I get the sense that the author is either in Canada (.ca domain) or California, where people leave parties without ceremony all of the time. It would actually be far stranger to make a big deal of your departure.
    - jamdavswim 13y ago
      ^ saunas
robbiea 13y ago
Love the writing style of this post. He may be in an introvert but he's a damn good writer!
- morganherlocker 13y ago
  > He may be in an introvert but he's a damn good writer! Along with what I would imagine is a sizable chunk of the best writers. Writing is rarely a social activity.
  - GarvielLoken 13y ago
    Actually most good writers ( as in book authors ) are FE-doms (Feeling Extroverted) which makes them extraverted and not introverted. They are good at it because they are naturally good at consciously think and reflect about how they affect other people and how other people affect them, which is good for making believable characters. It still amazes me that people on this board stick to their (hero) introvert/extravert dichotomy instead of actually researching the subject which you would expect engineers and techies to have an inkling to do. Search words, MBTI, Keyser, Jung, Big Five.
    - thallada 13y ago
      A lot of my engineering friends seem to write off the MBTI as some psychology pseudoscience like astrology. I think there's some truth to it, but it's certainly not a cut and dry science.
      - GarvielLoken 13y ago
        Of course it is not a science, we don't have the technology yet to probable verify it. But Dario Nardi has made some interesting studies with eeg that maps the functions to areas in the brain. It is a theory that many people are finding works and confirms their real life experience, short story if it quacks like a duck and if it looks like a duck. But you are ofcause allowed to continue thinking the earth it flat until you are shown prober proof for something else.
rip747 13y ago
I think the take away is that sometimes you can't see the forest through the trees, so look at the sunset. When I'm working on something and I just can't figure it out, I take my dog for a walk and hold some ridiculous one-way conversation with him. Yeah I know I must look like a manic talking to an eight pound pomeranian, but the point is to put your mind completely somewhere else. It's amazing how the solution just appears when your mind isn't engulfed in the problem.
- Jemaclus 13y ago
  This is called Rubber Duck Debugging (no joke: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging). It works astonishingly well. Edit: I misread the comment. Thought you were explaining the problem to your dog. I'm wrong. Different thing. :) Still, your way also works astonishingly well, too.
  - Jem 13y ago
    Moment of 'aha' as I suddenly realise that thing I do which I assumed I was alone on is actually a common/real 'thing' :)
intull 13y ago
This is one of the best articles I've read for situations like those. I fall into such situations every now and then! And I'm going to pass this on to my friends as a "nice article". ;)
jamra 13y ago
I would like to see this story rewritten from the point of view of a super hacker who likes to visit bug lists, track down the programmers assigned where they work, and psychologically hack those programmers into finding the solution. He protects his identity wearing only a hoodie.
- jonalmeida 13y ago
  This sounds like the making of a superhero, Triage Man!
- dsuth 13y ago
  Genuine LOL, well played!
Gigablah 13y ago
There's a difference between being "busy" and being "self-absorbed".
AdrianRossouw 13y ago
I'm in a situation now where I might end up taking my first office job in more than a decade. I'm actually kind of worried that the impact of having other people around will significantly limit my productivity. The few times I have gone to a remote office to do some work, I really suffered with the open plan situation. I have to make a conscious effort not to be gruff and terse with my SO when he breaks my concentration, and I outright love him. I have to remind myself that other people aren't able to perceive what is going on in the virtual world. Maybe it will work out fine, but in all honesty having to commute and be somewhere every day at a certain(ish) time is probably what's going to kill the experiment for me, not the other people.
pbhjpbhj 13y ago
My mother still recounts that at primary school (5-11) all I'd did is day-dream all day and they could never get me to do any work. That's not strictly true of course - I was reading "top class" books when still in infants and was never challenged by the maths we did, taught the teachers about electric circuits (perhaps they were just humouring me). One of my favourite things to do is simply sit and stare out the window, or sit on the stairs but I'm always thinking about something. Always inventing something in my mind or doing some gedanken or other. I wish this had been recognised as indicative of internal complex state rather than laziness and vacuity and then I might have been encouraged towards developing those thoughts properly. ... but then I'm prone to blame external forces for my failings.
- cryoshon 13y ago
  >I wish this had been recognised as indicative of internal complex state rather than laziness and vacuity and then I might have been encouraged towards developing those thoughts properly. Agreed. Instead of being encouraged to following our own path and letting our creativity flourish, we've been beaten down for the sake of fitting in.
PhasmaFelis 13y ago
I honestly can't decide if being like this would make me more happy (because totally dedicated to something that fascinates me) or less (because can't enjoy personal time for itself).
- Windwaker 13y ago
  I'm like this: It pretty much drives me insane.
shakeel_mohamed 13y ago
"Seriously, who wears a hoodie at an office party?" - As the only intern in a small office, I did it last year :) (Partially because I was forced to go)
sudhirj 13y ago
What doesn't seem to be coming through here is the power of the subconscious to pattern match and work on problems independently of our main heads. The way this guy figured out the solution to his problem was by observing another person's behaviour in an elevator, which matched a pattern in his mind. aStimulus is often a good thing. I've actually found watching a lot of unrelated everyday interactions helps with designing systems.
mello151 13y ago
I thought it was just me...
dimadima 13y ago
Pathological stuff going on here. Not to mention the author also appears to be a dick.
inquist 13y ago
I have a similar bug. But I was able to code a workaround so the original leak has still not been found. Good news is it's not causing any problems :) Sometimes it just needs to work.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
alex_c 13y ago
I love the writing, I love the anecdote, and I love the self-awareness it shows. Almost just as much, I love the comments here - they're just so incorrigibly HN. Not everything is a problem that should be taken literally, dissected, and solved. The story is not the author asking for help with enjoying parties, relating to others, or troubleshooting bugs. It's a beautiful example of an internal monologue that shows not only how people approach social situations differently, but to what extent they think differently. I'm not sure the author needs any of the pseudo-analysis being offered to him (however well-meaning it is) - the writing suggests a lot more awareness of his perspective and that of the people around him than most of the comments rushing in with the most literal interpretation. Either way, great piece of writing that seems to hold a mirror up to the reader more than anything - it clearly strikes a chord but each reader appears to be taking away something different.
- css771 13y ago
  Exactly this. This situation has nothing to do with hackers or programming or even work of any kind. It's just about certain people who think differently when in certain situations and that leads people to label them "introverts" when in fact it's just that you can say their mental faculties lie elsewhere.
- jaimebuelta 13y ago
  This comment is wonderful...
- zemanel 13y ago
  self-awareness is not usually an attribute introverts lack, fortunately or not :-)
  - sanderjd 13y ago
    Actually I think it's quite common for people to mistake mere introspection with actual self-awareness. It is much harder to see your true self than to see a self you have constructed to see as your self.
randac 13y ago
Jot some notes on the back of a napkin and the issue becomes less of one. The real problem, as others have said, is agreeing to things that you would rather not go through with... Now, that I can sympathize with. Not least because I struggle with it too.
kirab 13y ago
Actually it’s obvious that the author is an introvert. It’s just the negative connotations which make him deny it.
sakura_k 13y ago
~(introvert || extrovert). Or perhaps a better definition is that there is no common mutex for introverts and extroverts. Or we're all a little introvert and all a little extrovert. Introverts are powered by self-reflection and alone time spent understanding the things they love. Extroverts are powered by spending time with other people and reflecting on what they love. Most of us are a linear combination of the two. I'm about a 0.6i + a 0.4e (factors subject to change; some amazing people's factors add up to 1.0; warranty void where prohibited). Introversion and extroversion aren't necessarily a dichotomy and aren't anything to apologize for. We partake of these modes of socialite as life permits. If you're binary on the scale, great - that helps other people understand you. If you're analog on the scale, great, you can help others understand you where you are currently.
griffinheart 13y ago
There was never a time that a "F*ck this, i'm going for a drink/dinner" moment didn't help me solve a problem. What i feel is that after grinding on a problem for a while we get tunnel vision, the only way out of that, for me, is to turn off and go do something else.
pdpi 13y ago
Nope, sorry, you're wrong. You are the exact definition of an introvert. You're in a social environment, surrounded by other people, and instead of interacting with others, you're lost in thought about something else entirely. Just wikipedia it: Introversion is "the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life". That exactly describes the behaviour you're relating. Now, being an introvert isn't a problem, but that title tells me that you're no so much concerned about introversion being a problem, as you are about grandstanding and making your "busyness" mark you as important somehow.
- Raphael_Amiard 13y ago
  Wow, so much resentment in this comment ! I for one think I did never fit into one or the other category, I'm an extrovert sometimes, and introvert at some other times. One thing is certain is, when I'm problem solving, I don't want to talk to people, because I need to preserve the mental state of my reflexion. And it is very annoying to have to justify that all the time at work. So for me, wether the author is really an introvert or not in the grand scheme of things is not important. What is important is that a lot of people don't feel like talking when they do this kind of jobs, and for a very good reason.
hessenwolf 13y ago
Very entertaining. Virginia Woolf stream of consciousness in a socially anxious situation.
tdsamardzhiev 13y ago
No, you are an introvert.
dsschnau 13y ago
That was a wonderful little story. I really enjoyed it.
iamthepieman 13y ago
I enjoyed reading this. I don't normally like stream of consciousness writing but this was catchy.
1602 13y ago
No, woman, no cry. Just be in a present moment and everything is gonna be alright.
markbnj 13y ago
You seem too anxious. I don't know about you, but once an idea occurs to me about what might be causing a problem, there's zero chance of forgetting it. You should have just enjoyed the party. After all, the ROI on the relaxation had just gone up significantly.
notlisted 13y ago
Replace 'CEO' by 'my wife' and you have my life. It's difficult to explain apparently, but me sitting quietly in my underwear in the office chair staring at the wall on a Sunday morning doesn't mean I'm not busy. Those pancakes can wait.
frade33 13y ago
the title is now my twitter tag line, thanks for that. People often accuse me of being introvert, while I am shy of telling them the truth ;)
zwieback 13y ago
Nice story, please ignore all the whiner comments. What I want to know is: did your inspiration help fix the bug?
Kronopath 13y ago
This is why I used to carry around a pocket notebook with me at all times (nowadays I use the Notes functionality on my smartphone). Managed to figure out the solution to a problem I've been struggling with? Got a sudden flash of creative inspiration I don't want to forget? Need to remember to do some chore later on this evening? Pull out the notebook and pen, quickly write it down as best I can, then put the notebook back in my pocket and return my focus to what's going on around me at the time. That way I can put that idea out of my mind, returning to it when the situation is right.
drivingmenuts 13y ago
Well-written article. I can relate (I often zone out at social gatherings that I don't exactly know if I could skip out on, which is most of them). Amazing how much bike-shedding is going on here. Or perhaps not.
chris_mahan 13y ago
This is why I always carry a small notebook in my back pocket. And pens.
mvkel 13y ago
I never understood why being an introvert is looked at as a negative, like the last thing you want to be is an introvert. If this piece is this guy's inner monologue, he's an introvert. If he's incessantly focused on _things_, and people seem to be a distraction from that thing, that's a pretty big indicator of an introverted personality. Extroverts can't _help_ but think about connecting with people. They thrive on it. They're people people.

298 points by mtabini 13y ago

jxf 13y ago

This story reminded me of the "Why you shouldn't interrupt developers" cartoon: http://i.imgur.com/PtMx9GJ.png http://i.imgur.com/PtMx9GJ.png

girvo 13y ago
I was in an interview on Monday, and the tech lead and I were having a good giggle about that exact cartoon! I told him about The Headphones Rule[0], and he thought it was an awesome idea. Funny coincidence. [0] http://theheadphonesrule.com/ http://theheadphonesrule.com/
- michh 13y ago
  I wish that worked. I'm in an open plan office where I constantly need the headphone to drown out the noise all the other things happening (people talking to each other, marketing people making phone calls, people walking about, etc) so that'd mean I'd be constantly unapproachable. I'd actually like that, but I'm pretty sure my co-workers and employer wouldn't. A friend works in an office where headphones are even banned because they create too much of a barrier to talk to a co-worker. I'd go absolutely crazy there in less than a week.
  - ryandrake 13y ago
    Dealing with interruptions and distractions while remaining focused on the problem at hand is a valuable skill that takes time and effort to hone. Any hacker can write code while in a closed office, wearing headphones, shut off from the world. Great hackers can write code while E-mails come in, people drop by with questions, Julie over in BizDev is yacking on the phone with some vendor, and the PM is asking if you've filled out your TPS report this week.
    - enraged_camel 13y ago
      There is a great deal of research that says otherwise. You can start reading here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interruption_science http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interruption_science
    - Dewie 13y ago
      Maybe this will become a new "zen" thing - calm and collected in the midst of chaos. Though even though it might something that great programmers can do, they might be even more effective if they get to remove some of those distractions.
    - diminoten 13y ago
      I'm okay with not being a great hacker, then. I need my quiet.
  - diminoten 13y ago
    Is it weird that something as little as that is something I'd literally ignore and possibly get fired over?
    - michh 13y ago
      Not to me, but my perspective is far from the definition of normal ;)
- Dewie 13y ago
  What if I don't want to be distracted by everything around me, but don't mind being interrupted if there is something they are wondering about? Then I might have to wear headphones with the usual volume, 'cause if I wear it half-way or something then I still get a bit distracted by everything around me. It's like leaving your door halfway open to signal that someone can come in if they want. I might not mind having a visit, but I might mind hearing all the noise, or curious looks from people passing by through the corridor. Hence the 'busy' sign to hang on the doorknob, when needed.
adventureloop 13y ago
Yeah that came to mind as well as this http://xkcd.com/602/ http://xkcd.com/602/.
- mistermann 13y ago
  I don't quite catch what he's doing in the middle frames?
  - sukuriant 13y ago
    He zoned out of the world around him and distracted himself with either the project he was working on prior, or just a stream of consciousness around his get-out-of-too-many-words tool of counting
  - pronoiac 13y ago
    You mean, other than mentally retreating from the party? He's doing math around the reciprocals of primes. See http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/602:_Overstimulated http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/602:_Overstimulate... for more info.

kabdib 13y ago

My personal theory: For something really hard, you have to put in your time and think about the issue. It has to consume you. You can't hold decent conversations. Eventually that janitor in the back of your head wanders up to your mental whiteboard, looks at the problem, says "Harumph!" and scribbles down an answer, and you wake up in the middle of the night with the answer so obvious and a shriek on your lips. But there aren't any shortcuts, and the janitor is not at your beck and call.

misframer 13y ago
> You have to neglect things if you intend to get what you want done. There's no question about this. —Richard Hamming http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html
- thenerdfiles 13y ago
  Humans aren't things[0]. Les choses sont contre nous. — [0]: http://synapses.co.za/report-on-resistentialism/ http://synapses.co.za/report-on-resistentialism/
  - JonnieCache 13y ago
    Is that page meant to be satire? Either way it's completely hilarious. A recommended read. I began to smell a rat when he started talking about wet sacks, but when he starts dropping the jam on the floor it becomes pretty clear. I love the ideas. I shall be sending it to all my most pretentious friends as soon as possible. Good to see that the french are still putting the work in. EDIT: it's from the 60s and written by an englishman. now it all makes sense. oh well. and I've just realised what "jean-marie ventre" is about. now I feel a fool.
6d0debc071 13y ago
The Janitor visits me far more frequently when I set a 'You've spent an hour on this, hon' timer for a difficult problem. At which point it's time for me to go take a break, talk to other people, have a cup of tea. Then come back - take a brief look at the original problem - and then, if nothing occurs, to work on a related problem before coming back to it and seeing if I can make any more progress. Maybe it's just me, but protracted work on something I don't feel I'm making progress on seems to stop me thinking.

scoofy 13y ago

If you look on your phone, you might have a little app called "notes." I use that and still have a great time at parties.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
phantomb 13y ago
Yeah. Party guy isn't busy, he's disorganized.
- groby_b 13y ago
  If you take the story literally, yes. If you assume that the problem is slightly more complicated and the author simplified for the benefit of having a readable story, your little notes app does squat. If the solution for a complicated problem comes to you this way, you have managed to see dozens of moving parts at just the right time, from just the right angle, in your mind. It is incredibly hard to hold on to that, and writing it out in notes takes several pages. When that solution comes to you, you cling on to it for dear life until you can put it into a form that works - several pages of notes, a test proving your point, a large diagram. Whatever it is. None of those answers can be captured with a phone app.
  - phantomb 13y ago
    I'm skeptical that an insight can be both simple enough to spontaneously occur during a social outing AND complicated enough to require multiple pages of notes just to capture enough to remind you of the idea.
    - louthy 13y ago
      Quite, only an aide memoire is needed, not War and Peace.
    - groby_b 13y ago
      It's rare. It happens. The point is, words might not be the best way to capture your insight. You have _something_ in your mind, and it doesn't always translate into few words. To quote Blaise Pascal: "I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter."

austinhutch 13y ago

I'm an introvert and that doesn't prevent me from enjoying parties and being sociable. It irks me when introvert is used as a pejorative or like it is something people have to "cope" with.

LogicHack 13y ago
If you attend parties or go out for the sake of being social, you're not an introvert.
- Windwaker 13y ago
  That's not accurate at all. Many introverts, like myself, like socializing and hanging out with friends, but "recharge" by spending time alone. I can enjoy myself at a party, whether I'm a wallflower or not, but after prolonged socializing I need to spend some time alone. Please do not mistake introversion for social anxiety.
  - cortesoft 13y ago
    Yes, I always interpreted introvert vs extrovert as being about where we get our energy from.... introverts get energy from being alone, while extroverts get energy from being with people.
  - thenerdfiles 13y ago
    Aye ! Susain Cain describes the distinction quite well[0]. Introvert/Extrovert describes how social intelligence relates to energy increase and decrease. Introverts are more rapidly exhausted in using their social intelligence, whereas extroverts are more rapidly refreshed when deploying their social intelligence. The "way we feel" about social encounters is a symptom of (and thus a correlation with) the rise and fall of energy as we are part of the scene — where typically when we are losing energy, we're less inclined to view the situation positively (social anxiety then is engendered), largely do to our own lack of introspection and the effects of our poor participation/adjustment. It's more costly for introverts to engage socially, and so the rewards (take aways) are strictly only harder to perceive. — [0]: http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts

chaz 13y ago

> Are they actually talking to me? Unbelievable. I can’t talk, Dan; can’t you see? I’m hanging to this idea by a thread as it is My problem with this story is that it makes it sounds like it's Dan's fault for walking up to the author at a party/social event. We've all been there -- an all-consuming problem or an unexpected moment of clarity. Or maybe you realize something that puts you into a sour mood. We can't expect those around us to be mind readers.

cgriswald 13y ago
That's not how I read it. I read that as Dan being the target of his frustration, not that he literally blamed Dan.
spuz 13y ago
You say the story makes it sound like Dan is at fault and at the same time you say "We've all been there" which suggests you don't actually believe the author is blaming Dan for interrupting his thoughts. What makes you think others will misinterpret the author's point of view when it's clear you were able to understand it? Language will always have many different possible interpretations - a smart reader will pick up on that just as you did.

castlegrove 13y ago

I totally get this. As one who works in a coworking space I have to fend off people all day. I love to talk, but not when I'm trying to write code. Some people don't realize that headphones are the universal sign of "I'm busy".

rhizome 13y ago
They realize it, they just think their interests are always more important.
npizzolato 13y ago
If people are distracting you, maybe you should, you know, have an actual conversation with them about it. Not everyone views headphones as the universal sign for being busy. Some people (myself included) just like listening to music while we work.

thenerdfiles 13y ago

I know a developer who once walked over to a business analyst to ask about an interesting ID in our database. She chatted with him for a bit, drew her question, then they bantered some. At the end of it, he recalled the interesting ID that she originally queried about, as they conversed, told her, then as she passed on to her next endeavor, her closing comment was, "Now let me try to remember that number all the way back to my desk." Now granted, this is just an ID — not a bug, an "idea" or something embedded in some complicated (dis)array of logic — but she engaged the person whom she asked, and through human interaction and grace, the two pulled out an answer together. Then she took it in strides that memory is up to her. I remember when I used to be more like her — and less like this antihuman, perpetually brooding, code-distressed, oh-can-you-leave-me-to-my-precious-mind sob-story archetype that you rage-hackers (again perpetually) perpetuate. Why do we romanticize this? It's becoming obnoxious — the glorification of obnoxiousness. Your mind is your garden, and no one owes you peace of mind. And if people wish to browse your garden, you should be absolutely fucking thrilled. Why are you propping up and romanticizing this "do no enter" sign at the entrance of your gardens? You know — there's a Java dev here that often times will start off an interruption with, "How can I provide you with outstanding customer service today?" How about this? Forget your "engineer" metaphor. Forget your "prodigious self-torment". If you want to fold to the Machines — that's YOUR M.O. Stop sharing with piss about it. Stop whining. Our job has one distinct role, and that's to protect EACH OTHER from this massively complicated world of machines. Do your goddamn fellow human a favor, and pay more attention to HUMANS than you do machines. Maybe your life will be filled with more spontaneity, warmth, and gifts — because all a fucking computer is going to give you is rules. One key subcomponent of our job as developers, programmers, etc. is Customer Service and that's because humans first. Why else is "human-readable" a thing?

djur 13y ago
Also, why go to a party if you're too busy to enjoy it? (Sincerely agreed.)
- AdrianRossouw 13y ago
  social obligation?

cgriswald 13y ago

Fantastic read. I'm not a fan of the labels introvert and extrovert as they apply to people. However, I think as they apply to behaviors they are useful, and I found the fact that you didn't advocate for yourself to get out of there (possibly even at the expense of being rude) to be a bit introverted. Same with the idea that you usually "blow it" during conversation. (Alternatively, perhaps I am asocial.)

kirillzubovsky 13y ago

I just want to say, love the writing style!

sukuriant 13y ago

So, this guy went to a social event that he didn't want to go to because his mind was on work things and had been for a long, long time. [edit] I'm taking the stance that there was a good reason for his going. Otherwise the question is just "why did he go?"[/edit] Why wasn't he in the moment at the party? I suppose there's several reasons. I'm going to assume he was having a great time, someone that he was talking to left and then he wandered back into thought rather than going off to talk to someone else. That's fine, whatever. So, now I wonder where I'm supposed to go from here with this piece. The thing is this can't be about are getting flustered at people for interrupting your thought. It doesn't look like it. Therefore, I'm going to assume it's something like I'm doing right now: stream of consciousness. If that's the case, then, neat! I've been there! Very cool. Sorry it got awkward for you there. The other guy is a CEO, he understands being in thought all the time. "Just one sec, I gotta write this down" and then scribbling a bunch of notes wouldn't be too offensive to a man in charge of a whole company. He's done it plenty of times, and those ideas come at any random moment. I wouldn't be offended by a brief scribble before some proper salutations. After all, that CEO has now been given your undivided attention after about 5 seconds of scribbling (presuming you can write something short down that can be used to jog your memory). People like undivided attention. Makes them feel important, be they your boss, co-worker, friend, spouse or child. Now, what is this story being used for. "I am not an introvert. I am just busy." No, you're not busy. Or, at least, your busy-ness shouldn't be with work things right now. You're at a party and should be in party mode with your friends. It's kinda like a father going home and saying he's going to spend time with his children, only to completely space out when he's playing catch. His mind should have been on his children. Your time is with your friends, there. Not giving them your attention is rude to them. "I am not socially awkward / going through the motions. I had a sudden thought I need to write down 'real quick" but that wouldn't be as catchy of a title. There's those little notebooks that fit in front pockets that people buy and carry around. Maybe this is what those are for; or, as someone else in this thread pointed out, that's what the 'notes' app on your phone is for. I'd honestly not considered that is a reason, or if I have, I just re-realized that's what they can be for. Anyway, We can take this to some other situations where it wouldn't be acceptable to be sucked into this train of thought: a meeting about a different feature at the job you're working at. They want you present on their tasks, too. Live in the moment, be that completely absorbed in your current work task, or hanging out with your friends, laughing about stupid things, or hearing a friend talk about his story.

puppetmaster3 13y ago

Opposite is also true: I have nothing to do, let me call a meeting a blowhard.

dave_chenell 13y ago

This is perfect

peteforde 13y ago

You know, there's a time and a place for quiet reflection. If the author needed time to reflect, he should go for a walk — alone, not go to a party. I'm a shy introvert, but I see this fellow's problem a mile away: he needs to get better at saying no to people. Sure it's important to be present for social functions, and there's an art to "making an appearance" that is just part of playing the game. But if you're consciously aware that you should be somewhere else... GO. A room full of tech geeks will get this. Actually, they most likely won't notice that you're leaving. That particular neurosis is rooted in ego: part of you wants someone to notice that you're missing, so that you can be not just doing something important but be a hero about it. Deep down, we're all frequently irrational in similar ways. "I don't want to be alone, but I want to be left alone." - Stephen Fry

dhfromkorea 13y ago
"part of you wants someone to notice that you're missing, so that you can be not just doing something important but be a hero about it." => Besides the ego, there's also a cultural component. My Finnish friends tend to excel at leaving without saying goodbye or hugging, not because they have weaker ego but because that's a part of their culture. That said, in my culture (South Korea), your saying nothing when leaving will immediately strike people as socially incorrect or weird to say the least.
- peteforde 13y ago
  Finland is indeed the best place on earth to live if you just want to be left alone. Also: saunas. As for the cultural differences regarding the ritual of leaving a social event, I really enjoy hearing about how things happen in other places. I would have had no idea. That said, I get the sense that the author is either in Canada (.ca domain) or California, where people leave parties without ceremony all of the time. It would actually be far stranger to make a big deal of your departure.
  - jamdavswim 13y ago
    ^ saunas

robbiea 13y ago

Love the writing style of this post. He may be in an introvert but he's a damn good writer!

morganherlocker 13y ago
> He may be in an introvert but he's a damn good writer! Along with what I would imagine is a sizable chunk of the best writers. Writing is rarely a social activity.
- GarvielLoken 13y ago
  Actually most good writers ( as in book authors ) are FE-doms (Feeling Extroverted) which makes them extraverted and not introverted. They are good at it because they are naturally good at consciously think and reflect about how they affect other people and how other people affect them, which is good for making believable characters. It still amazes me that people on this board stick to their (hero) introvert/extravert dichotomy instead of actually researching the subject which you would expect engineers and techies to have an inkling to do. Search words, MBTI, Keyser, Jung, Big Five.
  - thallada 13y ago
    A lot of my engineering friends seem to write off the MBTI as some psychology pseudoscience like astrology. I think there's some truth to it, but it's certainly not a cut and dry science.
    - GarvielLoken 13y ago
      Of course it is not a science, we don't have the technology yet to probable verify it. But Dario Nardi has made some interesting studies with eeg that maps the functions to areas in the brain. It is a theory that many people are finding works and confirms their real life experience, short story if it quacks like a duck and if it looks like a duck. But you are ofcause allowed to continue thinking the earth it flat until you are shown prober proof for something else.

rip747 13y ago

I think the take away is that sometimes you can't see the forest through the trees, so look at the sunset. When I'm working on something and I just can't figure it out, I take my dog for a walk and hold some ridiculous one-way conversation with him. Yeah I know I must look like a manic talking to an eight pound pomeranian, but the point is to put your mind completely somewhere else. It's amazing how the solution just appears when your mind isn't engulfed in the problem.

Jemaclus 13y ago
This is called Rubber Duck Debugging (no joke: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging). It works astonishingly well. Edit: I misread the comment. Thought you were explaining the problem to your dog. I'm wrong. Different thing. :) Still, your way also works astonishingly well, too.
- Jem 13y ago
  Moment of 'aha' as I suddenly realise that thing I do which I assumed I was alone on is actually a common/real 'thing' :)

intull 13y ago

This is one of the best articles I've read for situations like those. I fall into such situations every now and then! And I'm going to pass this on to my friends as a "nice article". ;)

jamra 13y ago

I would like to see this story rewritten from the point of view of a super hacker who likes to visit bug lists, track down the programmers assigned where they work, and psychologically hack those programmers into finding the solution. He protects his identity wearing only a hoodie.

jonalmeida 13y ago
This sounds like the making of a superhero, Triage Man!
dsuth 13y ago
Genuine LOL, well played!

Gigablah 13y ago

There's a difference between being "busy" and being "self-absorbed".

AdrianRossouw 13y ago

I'm in a situation now where I might end up taking my first office job in more than a decade. I'm actually kind of worried that the impact of having other people around will significantly limit my productivity. The few times I have gone to a remote office to do some work, I really suffered with the open plan situation. I have to make a conscious effort not to be gruff and terse with my SO when he breaks my concentration, and I outright love him. I have to remind myself that other people aren't able to perceive what is going on in the virtual world. Maybe it will work out fine, but in all honesty having to commute and be somewhere every day at a certain(ish) time is probably what's going to kill the experiment for me, not the other people.

pbhjpbhj 13y ago

My mother still recounts that at primary school (5-11) all I'd did is day-dream all day and they could never get me to do any work. That's not strictly true of course - I was reading "top class" books when still in infants and was never challenged by the maths we did, taught the teachers about electric circuits (perhaps they were just humouring me). One of my favourite things to do is simply sit and stare out the window, or sit on the stairs but I'm always thinking about something. Always inventing something in my mind or doing some gedanken or other. I wish this had been recognised as indicative of internal complex state rather than laziness and vacuity and then I might have been encouraged towards developing those thoughts properly. ... but then I'm prone to blame external forces for my failings.

cryoshon 13y ago
>I wish this had been recognised as indicative of internal complex state rather than laziness and vacuity and then I might have been encouraged towards developing those thoughts properly. Agreed. Instead of being encouraged to following our own path and letting our creativity flourish, we've been beaten down for the sake of fitting in.

PhasmaFelis 13y ago

I honestly can't decide if being like this would make me more happy (because totally dedicated to something that fascinates me) or less (because can't enjoy personal time for itself).

Windwaker 13y ago
I'm like this: It pretty much drives me insane.

shakeel_mohamed 13y ago

"Seriously, who wears a hoodie at an office party?" - As the only intern in a small office, I did it last year :) (Partially because I was forced to go)

sudhirj 13y ago

What doesn't seem to be coming through here is the power of the subconscious to pattern match and work on problems independently of our main heads. The way this guy figured out the solution to his problem was by observing another person's behaviour in an elevator, which matched a pattern in his mind. aStimulus is often a good thing. I've actually found watching a lot of unrelated everyday interactions helps with designing systems.

mello151 13y ago

I thought it was just me...

dimadima 13y ago

Pathological stuff going on here. Not to mention the author also appears to be a dick.

inquist 13y ago

I have a similar bug. But I was able to code a workaround so the original leak has still not been found. Good news is it's not causing any problems :) Sometimes it just needs to work.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

alex_c 13y ago

I love the writing, I love the anecdote, and I love the self-awareness it shows. Almost just as much, I love the comments here - they're just so incorrigibly HN. Not everything is a problem that should be taken literally, dissected, and solved. The story is not the author asking for help with enjoying parties, relating to others, or troubleshooting bugs. It's a beautiful example of an internal monologue that shows not only how people approach social situations differently, but to what extent they think differently. I'm not sure the author needs any of the pseudo-analysis being offered to him (however well-meaning it is) - the writing suggests a lot more awareness of his perspective and that of the people around him than most of the comments rushing in with the most literal interpretation. Either way, great piece of writing that seems to hold a mirror up to the reader more than anything - it clearly strikes a chord but each reader appears to be taking away something different.

css771 13y ago
Exactly this. This situation has nothing to do with hackers or programming or even work of any kind. It's just about certain people who think differently when in certain situations and that leads people to label them "introverts" when in fact it's just that you can say their mental faculties lie elsewhere.
jaimebuelta 13y ago
This comment is wonderful...
zemanel 13y ago
self-awareness is not usually an attribute introverts lack, fortunately or not :-)
- sanderjd 13y ago
  Actually I think it's quite common for people to mistake mere introspection with actual self-awareness. It is much harder to see your true self than to see a self you have constructed to see as your self.

randac 13y ago

Jot some notes on the back of a napkin and the issue becomes less of one. The real problem, as others have said, is agreeing to things that you would rather not go through with... Now, that I can sympathize with. Not least because I struggle with it too.

kirab 13y ago

Actually it’s obvious that the author is an introvert. It’s just the negative connotations which make him deny it.

sakura_k 13y ago

~(introvert || extrovert). Or perhaps a better definition is that there is no common mutex for introverts and extroverts. Or we're all a little introvert and all a little extrovert. Introverts are powered by self-reflection and alone time spent understanding the things they love. Extroverts are powered by spending time with other people and reflecting on what they love. Most of us are a linear combination of the two. I'm about a 0.6i + a 0.4e (factors subject to change; some amazing people's factors add up to 1.0; warranty void where prohibited). Introversion and extroversion aren't necessarily a dichotomy and aren't anything to apologize for. We partake of these modes of socialite as life permits. If you're binary on the scale, great - that helps other people understand you. If you're analog on the scale, great, you can help others understand you where you are currently.

griffinheart 13y ago

There was never a time that a "F*ck this, i'm going for a drink/dinner" moment didn't help me solve a problem. What i feel is that after grinding on a problem for a while we get tunnel vision, the only way out of that, for me, is to turn off and go do something else.

pdpi 13y ago

Nope, sorry, you're wrong. You are the exact definition of an introvert. You're in a social environment, surrounded by other people, and instead of interacting with others, you're lost in thought about something else entirely. Just wikipedia it: Introversion is "the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life". That exactly describes the behaviour you're relating. Now, being an introvert isn't a problem, but that title tells me that you're no so much concerned about introversion being a problem, as you are about grandstanding and making your "busyness" mark you as important somehow.

Raphael_Amiard 13y ago
Wow, so much resentment in this comment ! I for one think I did never fit into one or the other category, I'm an extrovert sometimes, and introvert at some other times. One thing is certain is, when I'm problem solving, I don't want to talk to people, because I need to preserve the mental state of my reflexion. And it is very annoying to have to justify that all the time at work. So for me, wether the author is really an introvert or not in the grand scheme of things is not important. What is important is that a lot of people don't feel like talking when they do this kind of jobs, and for a very good reason.

hessenwolf 13y ago

Very entertaining. Virginia Woolf stream of consciousness in a socially anxious situation.

tdsamardzhiev 13y ago

No, you are an introvert.

dsschnau 13y ago

That was a wonderful little story. I really enjoyed it.

iamthepieman 13y ago

I enjoyed reading this. I don't normally like stream of consciousness writing but this was catchy.

1602 13y ago

No, woman, no cry. Just be in a present moment and everything is gonna be alright.

markbnj 13y ago

You seem too anxious. I don't know about you, but once an idea occurs to me about what might be causing a problem, there's zero chance of forgetting it. You should have just enjoyed the party. After all, the ROI on the relaxation had just gone up significantly.

notlisted 13y ago

Replace 'CEO' by 'my wife' and you have my life. It's difficult to explain apparently, but me sitting quietly in my underwear in the office chair staring at the wall on a Sunday morning doesn't mean I'm not busy. Those pancakes can wait.

frade33 13y ago

the title is now my twitter tag line, thanks for that. People often accuse me of being introvert, while I am shy of telling them the truth ;)

zwieback 13y ago

Nice story, please ignore all the whiner comments. What I want to know is: did your inspiration help fix the bug?

Kronopath 13y ago

This is why I used to carry around a pocket notebook with me at all times (nowadays I use the Notes functionality on my smartphone). Managed to figure out the solution to a problem I've been struggling with? Got a sudden flash of creative inspiration I don't want to forget? Need to remember to do some chore later on this evening? Pull out the notebook and pen, quickly write it down as best I can, then put the notebook back in my pocket and return my focus to what's going on around me at the time. That way I can put that idea out of my mind, returning to it when the situation is right.

drivingmenuts 13y ago

Well-written article. I can relate (I often zone out at social gatherings that I don't exactly know if I could skip out on, which is most of them). Amazing how much bike-shedding is going on here. Or perhaps not.

chris_mahan 13y ago

This is why I always carry a small notebook in my back pocket. And pens.

mvkel 13y ago

I never understood why being an introvert is looked at as a negative, like the last thing you want to be is an introvert. If this piece is this guy's inner monologue, he's an introvert. If he's incessantly focused on _things_, and people seem to be a distraction from that thing, that's a pretty big indicator of an introverted personality. Extroverts can't _help_ but think about connecting with people. They thrive on it. They're people people.