Introvert Pride

Many people know of introversion , but they don't have the foggiest idea who came up with the word. Don't feel bad; I didn't know myself until recently. Want to take a stab at it? Here's a hint: It was not Sigmund Freud, though that would make a logical guess. Introversion , the tendency to become preoccupied with one's own thoughts and feelings rather than external stimuli, was popularized by none other than Carl Jung, the Swiss psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who also coined the terms collective unconscious and analytical psychology. Unlike extroverts, who become energized while in the presence of large numbers of people, introverts are inward-oriented. They gain energy from reflection and lose energy in noisy social gatherings.  This in no way implies introverts are misanthropic loners, a common misconception. Misanthropes are those who, put simply, would rather stick a fork in their eye than have to deal with people. They loathe humankind with every fiber in thei...