Is the real world actually shaped for social interaction!? In Episode #499 of 'Musings', Juan & I discuss: 2 x books of Susan Cain’s 'Quiet' alongside Paul McKenna’s 'Instant Influence & Charisma', the quiet revolution of introverts rising up, what the book gets right (high reactivity, Big Five personality traits, pseudo‑extroversion), whether energy is the true differentiator, why environments like open‑plan offices and classrooms may suit the loud but don’t always produce the best work or learning, Juan's immense distaste of charisma hacks (power poses, havening), how confidence can be generated from practice rather than posture & how culture shapes what “good” interaction looks like. Huge thanks to Petar for the support, greatly appreciated! Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortals Timeline: (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:04) Two Books: Quiet by Susan Cain and Instant Influence & Charisma by Paul McKenna (00:05:03) What would a mostly introverted world look like? (00:06:10) Key claims: IQ parity, persistence, and high reactivity (00:08:45) Biology tidbits: lemon test, Big Five, and old pseudoscience (00:10:56) How many introverts? Pseudoextroverts and the energy question (00:13:38) Definitions matter: the books late caveat on introvert/extrovert (00:17:46) Workplaces: open plan offices, productivity and culture (00:23:43) Matching space to work: dev focus vs relationship roles (00:26:27) Homes and schools: nooks, group work, and when quiet helps (00:29:38) Socialisation as a skill independent of introversion (00:32:59) Group dynamics: one on one comfort and smallgroup awkwardness (00:36:36) Boostagram Lounge (00:40:56) Would we thrive in an introvert ideal culture? Asia chat (00:41:21) Paul McKennas charisma: influence recap and power poses (00:46:43) Do power poses work? State vs posture, confidence from within (00:51:27) Baselines, triggers and practical state management (00:54:11) Skills, reps and mini goals beat quick fixes (00:58:38) Trophies vs generators: focus on process over outcomes (01:01:11) Milestones, episode counts and wrapup Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReU Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspods Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcasts Value 4 Value Support: Boostagram: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/support Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast
