The subtitle of the book is "The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking," and in it Ms. Cain seeks to make people more aware of the strengths often associated with introversion, a personality type that 30 - 50 percent of Americans share. She supports a claim that American society, including its schools, is biased in favor of extroverts, which is why she wrote the book.

Rosa Parks was an introverted who titled her autobiography, "Quiet Strength."

Charles Schultz was an introvert.

J.K. Rowling is an introvert.

Steven Spielberg is an introvert.

Not NECESSARILY any of these things. Extroverts can be all of these too.

Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) was an introvert.

40 years of research shows that brainstorming in person doesn't work. (Online brainstorming can work quite well.)

In a 2005 fMRI study in which Berns updated an experiment of Asch, it was shown that peer pressure changes individuals' perceptions.

Some collaboration is great if well managed.

"Work alone. You're going to be best able to design revolutionary products and features if you're working on your own. Not on a committee. Not on a team." Stephen Wozniak

Although he was inspired by Homebrew and Apple could not have been successful without Steve Jobs and others' input, Wozniak worked alone to build a prototype of the first true personal computer as well as his other innovations.

Ericsson's studies show that it takes 10,000+ hours of deliberate practice to achieve at exceptional levels.

Deliberate practice requires an individual 1) to identify tasks or knowledge just out of his/her own reach, 2) to strive to improve his/her performance, 3) to self-monitor, and 4) to revise.

Solo practice (even for team athletes and ensemble musicians) is needed for steps 1 & 3 above.

Madeline L'Engle was an introvert.

Observation can be a great first step for all sorts of learning.

J.M. Barrie was an introvert.

According to Aron, 70% of "highly sensitive" people are introverts. One of their tendencies is empathy, "as if they have thinner boundaries separating them from other people's emotions and from the tragedies and cruelties of the world."

Eleanor Roosevelt was an introvert.

Introverts are comfortable with the quiet time alone it takes to think deeply and elaborately about their environments and experiences-- both physical and emotional.

George Orwell was an introvert.

Extroverts seem to be more susceptible than introverts to reward-seeking urges of amygdala.

Their dopamine ("reward chemical") pathways appear to be more active than those of introverts.

Area that still needs to be studied.

Gandhi was an introvert.

Introverts are no more likely to be smart than extroverts. Their edge in complex problem solving is due to their tendencies toward careful and slow processing, as well as persistence.