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Are shy people genrally smarter than the average person?

Question:

This is a question I’ve wondered about from the perspective of evolution. It’s very possible that during the conditions which existed for the bulk of human evolutionary history, a shy person would have a better chance of surviving and reproducing if they were somewhat shy and therefore less prone to be doing extrovert things such as chasing the other sex or hunting etc, and more prone to spending more of their time using their intelligence to think of ways to imnprove the lot of the social group they’re in. Contrary to what may people think, the crucial unit in terms of evolution is the social grouo that one is a part of.  the reproductive ‘fitness’ of an individual as compared to other members of their social group is not as impoortant as that of the social group itself. For instance, it wouldn’t do much good for an individual’s reproductive fitness within their social group if the whole group ended up being extinct. On the other hand, an individual who’s reproductive fitness within their social group were less than the aforementioned individual but theri social group as a whole were more competitive, they would actually have higher reproductive fitbess.

Response:

> On the other hand, an individual > who’s reproductive fitness within their social group were less than > the aforementioned individual but theri social group as a whole were > more competitive, they would actually have higher reproductive > fitbess.

How very interesting your entire post was.  Though it’s an old-hat in this NG now, you’ve shed some refreshing perspective on it, I believe.   Plus – it darn well makes sense! Matthew

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -SSH wrote: > This is a question I’ve wondered about from the perspective of > evolution. It’s very possible that during the conditions which existed > for the bulk of human evolutionary history, a shy person would have a > better chance of surviving and reproducing if they were somewhat shy > and therefore less prone to be doing extrovert things such as chasing > the other sex or hunting etc, and more prone to spending more of their > time using their intelligence to think of ways to imnprove the lot of > the social group they’re in. Contrary to what may people think, the > crucial unit in terms of evolution is the social grouo that one is a > part of.  the reproductive ‘fitness’ of an individual as compared to > other members of their social group is not as impoortant as that of > the social group itself. For instance, it wouldn’t do much good for an > individual’s reproductive fitness within their social group if the > whole group ended up being extinct. On the other hand, an individual > who’s reproductive fitness within their social group were less than > the aforementioned individual but theri social group as a whole were > more competitive, they would actually have higher reproductive > fitbess.

If you’re talking about differential reproductive success, I would expect that people who are "socially" fit would be more successful. As to the intelligence of shy people, I think one of my greatest sins as a shy person is "overthinking."  We have very active brains.  Which is very useful for problem solving. Thinking becomes a problem is when it takes the place of action.  We’ll beginto construct scenerios, write scripts, calculate the probabilities.  When to choice of action is obvious, we’ll postpone action for thought.   Here’s a survey for you, how many of us out there are also prone to procrastination?  I know, I am.   joel ps-On my wall: "A fool who acts without thinking accomplishes much more than a genius who thinks without acting."

Response:

In article <01bbf8eb$d8d102c0$dc4c7…@papajoe.tiac.net>, "Sues " – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -<papa…@tiac.net> wrote: > > Here’s a survey for you, how many of us out there are also prone to > > procrastination?  I know, I am.   > I am especially when what I have to do something that makes me anxious. > And of course this only makes it both the task and my anxiety worse.   > > joel > > ps-On my wall: "A fool who acts without thinking accomplishes much more > > than a genius who thinks without acting." > Nice quote!   I Love this quote is seems too true to life.  I Hate this > quote it seems too true to my life!  (not claiming to be a genius here, but > I do think more than I act.)

I think that it’s important to say that procrastination is not laziness. It’s basically fear.  Fear of the unkown.  Fear of possible consequences. What’s gotta be learned is to enjoy being scared.  Enjoy acting foolishly. Enjoy making mistakes.  Sometimes the best and easiest way to learn is by making all the mistakes. Kinda like hacking.  Screw the documentation.  Just play around.  See what happens.  That way, you begin to understand how things work.  Experience is the best teacher. joel

Response:

aran…@bway.net wrote: >What’s gotta be learned is to enjoy being scared.  

That may be a bit tough to achieve. The natural reaction to fear is to get away from whatever is causing the feeling. It takes a lot of willpower to confront your fears. I don’t think most of us here have that sort of willpower, except in times of great stress when we all seem to manage to surprise ourselves. >Enjoy acting foolishly.

Er, I don’t think so. If you think you’re acting foolishly you’ll never do it. You could try changing your attitudes so that the daft thing you are doing doesn’t seem foolish to you after all. >Enjoy making mistakes.  Sometimes the best and easiest way to learn is >by making all the mistakes.

Only if no-one else can see you making them. The slightest thought that someone might see you making a mistake is enough to stop a shy person doing anything. I’m nowhere near as shy as I used to be but I still have a furtive look around to make sure nobody is watching me before I do something out of the ordinary. Phil Miller

Response:

Joel wrote: > Here’s a survey for you, how many of us out there are also prone to > procrastination?  I know, I am.  

Definitely!  I am totally a procrastinator.   Couldn’t agree more.  Well, I could, but I’ll get back to you on that.

Response:

In article <32cf7c5e.15658…@news.demon.co.uk>, news…@korat.demon.co.uk wrote: > aran…@bway.net wrote: > >What’s gotta be learned is to enjoy being scared.   > That may be a bit tough to achieve. The natural reaction to fear is to > get away from whatever is causing the feeling. It takes a lot of > willpower to confront your fears. I don’t think most of us here have > that sort of willpower, except in times of great stress when we all > seem to manage to surprise ourselves.

Everything worth doing is always difficult.  Nobody said it was easy. It never is.   You’re right.  In our comfy everyday lives, we’re very resistant to change. But when it comes to the wire, we usually rise to the occasion.  The best way to get anything done is to start doing it before you’re ready.  If you wait, it will never happen. > >Enjoy acting foolishly. > Er, I don’t think so. If you think you’re acting foolishly you’ll > never do it. You could try changing your attitudes so that the daft > thing you are doing doesn’t seem foolish to you after all.

Why not?  Why not be totally outrageous?  Going sane usually feels just like you’re going crazy.  You’re always going to feel uncomfortable doing new things.  You’re always going to feel scared when you’re entering new territory.  What is unfamiliar and strange is always going to seem nuts. Go ahead.  Go nuts. > >Enjoy making mistakes.  Sometimes the best and easiest way to learn is > >by making all the mistakes. > Only if no-one else can see you making them. The slightest thought > that someone might see you making a mistake is enough to stop a shy > person doing anything. I’m nowhere near as shy as I used to be but I > still have a furtive look around to make sure nobody is watching me > before I do something out of the ordinary.

People make mistakes everyday.  That’s all a part of being human.  Anytime you accept the challenge of learning a new skill you have to accept being a beginner.  A beginning painter is usually a crappy painter.  A beginning teacher is a crappy teacher.  You’ve to allow yourself to be crappy in order to get good. Maybe what you fear most is criticism.  If someone sees you make mistakes, they will probably want to give you advice on how to get better.  Why not? To a beginner, criticism is gold.  Criticism allows you a point of view that you couldn’t get for yourself. I gotta say this again.  When you make changes in your life it’s always going to make you feel like you’re going crazy.  To a beginner, these things always sound crazy.  Mistakes are good.  Criticism is gold.  You have a right to be crappy.  It sounds crazy, doesn’t it?  Go crazy.  Get wild. If you wait for your rational mind to finish analyzing and motivate you, you’ll wait a long time.  It’s just going to block you.  A phrase I say a lot to myself is "Ready as I’ll never be."  Because I never feel prepared for the next audition or show or whatever.  But, I don’t let that feeling stop me.  I just do it.  See what happens when the dust settles. The biggest challenge I have right now is improv comedy.  The more I learn about it, the more it seems like real life to me.  Basic rules: 1) Don’t deny; justify–Accept your situation as given and then explore what possibilities exist.  2) Make active rather than passive decisions. joel

Response:

In article <5arv1c$…@nr1.ottawa.istar.net>, bet <bryan_thex…@mitel.com> wrote: > > >> Here’s a survey for you, how many of us out there are also prone to > > >> procrastination?  I know, I am. > You do realize that you might have to wait a while to answers to this > question, don’t you? :-) > OK, now that I’ve got the obvious cheap shot out of the way, I’ll admit > that I’m a procrastinator too…although I don’t think it is related to > my being shy.

For me, it definitely was related.  I would always find some distraction or something to delay what needed to be done.   Procrastination is fear, too.  It’s a side-effect of being a perfectionist. joel

Response:

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