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Being an introvert can be a challenge when you are surrounded by extroverts. Labels such as shy, anti-social, and narcissistic get thrown around as if you are a bad person. I read Susan Cain's "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" many years ago however the main message has stuck with me. In Western societies, communication and extroverted personalities are desired as they are deemed to be well rounded. This is evident when you look at the number of business degrees in the US compared to STEM degrees. Being someone who wants to deeply analyze problems is viewed as a negative attribute and it show in many highly technical industries that are predominately foreign. The phrase, "I'm just bad at math" is a common statement by Americans and is embraced as a positive statement that it is uncommon and unattractive to be good at math. As someone who works in quantitative finance (math, statistics and computer science) it is clear that Western values have lead to an education gap when it comes to technical topics. As a culture we need to look more seriously at the advantages of introverts and how to better leverage their skills while closing the education gap.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (affiliate link):
https://amzn.to/2ylfWrz

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