Comments on: Introversion-Extraversion and a Romantic Gifted Partnership

By: Typical Traits and Characteristics of a Gifted Adult — gifteduniverse.com

Typical Traits and Characteristics of a Gifted Adult — gifteduniverse.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:23:51 +0000

[...] Introversion – this can mean needing time alone to think but it also can mean that being be one’s self is necessary to re-charge versus extraverts who become energized as a result of being around other people. Introversion does not necessarily mean avoiding or not enjoying the company of other people. [...]

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:13:42 +0000

Yes, I like my job (more at some times than others, but that’s life). I’m a military officer… pay’s decent, scenery changes, and you get to be with people and go out and do stuff (plus, as an officer, you have more authority and fewer hassles in your work). True, I could get killed doing this (especially with a war on) but I could be an accountant and get hit by a bus too. Many of the personality qualities often associated with giftedness may, in fact, be just the qualities of the personalities of people who happen to be gifted rather than of giftedness itself. Growing up as I did (one of 600 or so gifted students in a high school of 3100) there were only as many “nerds” among my gifted peers (only about 3 to 5 percent) as they’re supposed to be gifted people among the normal population and many of my buddies went out and signed on the khaki colored line too. I do know, apart from personality type, the military is often more acceptant of giftedness than civilian life, particularly in services and specialties geared toward direct ground combat (i.e., where they “equip men, not man equipment” as the saying goes) due to the inherent priorities– “Machines don’t fight wars. People do, and they use their minds.” as the late Colonel John R. Boyd put it.

By: Elisa

Elisa — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:57:49 +0000

One of the reasons I set up the site was to answer the question: where do gifted adults who like their job work? So Matthew, I have to ask – do you like your job? If yes, why and what do you do? (A gifted ESTJ, huh? Go figure.)

By: Matthew

Matthew — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:48:11 +0000

ESTJ myself (virtually unheard of among the exceptionally gifted, but the most common type in my field of work, I’ve heard, so I’m in good enough company most of the time). Can’t say my romantic attachments, gifted or not, have been introverts; usually not, being social and not a “grind” I tend to irk introverts (especially gifted ones) and vice-versa. Going older does help, too; it increases the options.