The Quiet Programmer

Talks

Mark McSpadden

@markmcspadden

#software-development

The Quiet Programmer

by Mark McSpadden

In the presentation titled 'The Quiet Programmer', Mark McSpadden discusses the strengths of introversion in the field of programming and software development at RubyConf 2014. The session aims to reshape the perception of introverts, particularly in a profession often seen as populated by extroverted individuals.

Key Points Discussed:
- Introduction to Introversion: McSpadden states that approximately 50% of the U.S. population identifies as introverted according to Myers-Briggs personality tests, challenging common stereotypes about introverts.
- Cultural Misconceptions: He explores how introverts are often negatively portrayed, with a historical overview of how these misconceptions took shape through various psychological theories, culminating in Susan Cain's concept of 'the extrovert ideal'.
- Introverted Programmers: McSpadden highlights that while software development is perceived as extroverted, many introverted programmers thrive in this environment. He argues this is due to their unique cognitive advantages.
- Strengths of Introvert Software Developers:

- Deep Thinking: Introverts are shown to be natural deep thinkers who excel at analytical tasks due to their preference for processing complexities deeply.
- Meaningful Relationships: They tend to form fewer but more meaningful relationships, which can lead to stronger collaboration on projects.
- Work Environment Optimization: Introverts are more sensitive to environmental stimuli, allowing them to create optimal workspaces that enhance focus and productivity.
- Performance Under Stress: Studies suggest introverts may perform better under high-pressure conditions compared to their extroverted peers.

McSpadden concludes by emphasizing the value of introverted traits in the programming field, encouraging introverts to recognize their contributions as critical to successful software development.

00:00:17.610 Okay, welcome to the last full session of RubyConf 2014, and welcome to The Quiet Programmer. I am Mark McSpadden. Creatively, you can find me as Mark McSpadden on Twitter, GitHub, and the internet. I'm from Dallas, Texas, and for several years, I ran the local Ruby group there, the Dallas Ruby Brigade. You can find them at DallasRuby.org. For the last two years, I've run a conference there called Big Ruby. What we do is bring together people who are using Ruby in large environments with big teams that care about performance and scalability, and we host a two-day conference to share stories around that. We've done this for the last two years, and we'll be looking to announce our plans for 2015 in the next few weeks. I work at Sabre, and since I've already answered this several times this week, we don’t make printers. What we do is provide software services to the travel industry, both for travel agents, airlines, and hotels, and on the traveler-facing side through Travelocity. I lead our labs team at Sabre, working with some really talented individuals to research trends and technologies we think will become important for travel over the next three to five years. At home, I am a husband and a dad of three girls, the youngest of whom is just over two months old. Yes, I left a two-month-old at home to come to San Diego for four days. It’s been nice to sleep, but this talk is not about me. Well, actually, it kind of is about me, but it's also about us. At least, it's about some of us. Actually, it's about a lot of us.

00:02:15.400 This talk is about the intersection of two sets: software developers and introverts. This is important because an estimated fifty percent of the US population is introverted, according to Myers-Briggs, who conducts personality tests. A lot of people in this room have probably taken a Myers-Briggs personality test. Fifty percent of the US population is introverted—that's like close to half. Now, this is surprising to most people because people have this idea in their mind of what an introvert is, and they can't imagine that half of the people they know are actually introverted.

00:03:03.090 When I talk about this picture of what an introvert is, I have a pretty good idea because, while researching for this talk, I saw many pictures associated with articles on introverts. I can tell you that the typical portrayal of an introvert includes a lot of wool sweaters, hot chocolate, and lots of books. This is the image of an introvert as the internet portrays it, and this kind of scares me because I feel like half of the US is stuck in some kind of infinite winter. That’s not a metaphor, that’s real. If we could just get an introvert out to San Diego or show a picture of one in flip-flops, maybe this would indicate some progress. But this is nothing new to introverts. They have a history of being misunderstood, even by the professionals who spend their lives studying psychology.

00:04:03.980 So, we’re going to do a quick history of introverts and extroverts 101. We’re going to start in the 1920s—not that long ago. C.G. Jung is the person who popularized these terms, introvert and extrovert. His idea centered around the flow of mental energy. Extroverts have mental energy that flows outward, while introverts have mental energy that flows inward. This is actually not that bad a definition of an introvert and extrovert. In fact, if you're an introvert, this might resonate with you fairly well compared to some other definitions you've seen. The problem with this definition, however, is that the measure of mental energy and its directional flow is not quite a science, making it hard to adopt in the study of the mind. This means that this definition will inevitably have to change.

00:05:15.510 The next contributor to this is Heinz Eysenck, who, somewhere in the 1950s, created this model of personality based on three factors, one of which is extraversion. He was the first to introduce the idea of personal interaction as part of this. Eysenck suggests that there are subtraits of extraversion that you can look for to determine how extroverted someone is. He specifies some of these subtraits, but it isn't positive for introverts. In contrast to extroverts, who are perceived as stable, mature, integrated, emotionally strong, and dominant, introverts are categorized as persistent (which isn’t bad), cautious (okay), but also as melancholic and desurgent. You don’t even need to know what all those words mean to understand that they aren’t as good as the descriptor for extroverts.

00:06:57.350 This starts a trend that heads in the wrong direction for introverts. Subsequent work and theories are built on this foundation, and in the 1970s, what emerges is called the Big Five personality traits, one of which is extraversion. If you look at the Big Five factors—openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism—they spell out OCEAN, hence the order to help remember them. Yet again, we see a negative framing for introverts. I pulled several online personality tests based on the Big Five, and the descriptors for extroverts include outgoing, assertive, sociable, fun-loving, talkative, and cheerful. For introverts, the descriptors are reserved, somber, quiet, and cold. Fun-loving is the one that perplexes me because I don’t know what fun-hating looks like. Apparently, an introvert would not experience it, or an extrovert would not engage with this idea.

00:08:17.370 What we have is the assumption that being an extrovert is good and positive while being an introvert is negative and may require medical attention. I’m serious about this. When I googled one of those terms earlier, one of the suggestions said to consult a doctor if you have medical concerns. I’m genuinely curious to see the types of ads I get over the next two months based on the research just for this talk. Returning to the idea that extroverts are seen as good and introverts as bad, this reflects what's going on in our culture, as described by Susan Cain in her book 'Quiet,' where she introduces the term 'the extrovert ideal.' This concept suggests that the ideal member of society is outgoing, has lots of friends, is assertive, and may even be dominant.

00:09:42.320 One way to relate to this is through the popularization of superheroes at different times. During the 1940s, you had a series of animated cartoons about Superman, where the idea of his secret identity, Clark Kent, was depicted as a mild-mannered superhero. Fast forward to today, and our current superhero is billionaire playboy Tony Stark, who boldly declares, 'I am Iron Man.' He does not feel the need for a secret identity; he is out there, visible in the world. This creates challenges when we discuss being an introvert versus an extrovert, especially in the context of software development. When I was accepted to give this talk, I did what anyone would do: I googled 'introvert and software development,' and sure enough, there was a study prepared by Evans Data Corporation, which surveyed 457 software engineers.

00:10:51.350 One of the many questions they asked was to rate themselves on a scale of introversion and extroversion. Self-reported data suggests that software development appears to be one of the more extroverted professions. Our field is seemingly filled with extroverts. Regardless of your personal experience, it’s clear that it's more extroverted than fields like sales and marketing. This doesn’t indicate a problem with the study itself, but rather the issue of self-reporting in a world that values and rewards extroverted traits. Additionally, we mistakenly associate activities that could be neutral with introversion or extroversion but we always label them as positive for extroverts.

00:12:29.370 Public speaking isn't necessarily an extroverted activity. For instance, when I was invited to give this talk, it seems counterintuitive for an introvert. However, the reality is that many introverts do engage in public speaking. They often perceive it not as a conversation, but as a performance in front of an audience. The fear of public speaking affects a substantial 75% of the population, which raises an interesting point when you consider that 50% are introverts. Statistically, since the fear of public speaking impacts a broad swath of people, it indicates that a portion must be introverts.

00:14:16.330 Research demonstrates that introversion isn't synonymous with shyness. Shyness refers to anxiety surrounding social interaction. There can even be shy extroverts. That concept sounds particularly challenging to me: enjoying social interactions but simultaneously feeling anxious about them. I believe this constitutes a unique and unfortunate form of social anxiety. However, all is not lost for introverts; there is hope. Much of the work being done over the last 20 years seeks to understand introverts outside the negative narrative often applied to them. Studies by Jerome Kagan, who investigated temperament, engaged with young children to examine their reactivity in relation to external stimuli and monitored their developmental progress.

00:16:14.910 Further investigations, like those by Elaine Aaron, who studies highly sensitive individuals, correlate with introversion. Though they aren’t identical, the findings highlight important nuances. In pop culture, Susan Cain's book 'Quiet' spent 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list back in 2012. Just last week, my wife shared a Facebook post from the Huffington Post listing the ten myths about introverts. I can’t definitively say whether the Huffington Post is moving in a positive direction on this topic, but the visibility given to introverts is welcome given the past stigma. As we proceed to discuss introverts in software development, we need a clear working definition of what introversion and extraversion are.

00:17:46.870 We can return to Eysenck, who worked to explore the foundations of personality by emphasizing arousal and brain responses to external stimuli. Much of the definition of introverts and extroverts hinges on sensitivity to external stimuli and subsequent responses. Introverts are typically more sensitive to external stimuli and therefore require less of it to reach a comfortable state. We all strive towards a comfort level with our surrounding stimuli. Hence, introverts operate efficiently within diminished stimuli, while extroverts require an increased volume of stimulation.

00:19:14.670 But what does this reveal about software developers? I posit that introverted software developers possess unique cognitive advantages—qualities inherent to our brain structure that assist us in the software development field. This doesn’t dismiss the capacities of extroverts; rather, these abilities are naturally prevalent among introverts. After fifty years of being encouraged to act more extroverted, it is refreshing to identify some of our intrinsic strengths.

00:20:40.140 The first of these strengths is that introverted software developers are natural deep thinkers. Research indicates that individuals with high sensitivity—while not necessarily synonymous with introversion—are correlated with it. Studies show that high-sensitivity individuals exhibit heightened brain activity when assessing complex images. These individuals utilize brain areas engaged in processing complexity and often spend significantly longer reflecting on these stimuli. Jerome Kagan has noted that even young children identified as highly reactive respond with increased thoughtfulness when faced with various tasks, spending more time discerning choices and making decisions than their peers.

00:21:46.470 The ability to think deeply and engage with complex problems reflects a major advantage in our industry, where analytical skills are paramount. The second superpower that introverts possess revolves around forming fewer but deeper and more meaningful relationships, essential for career growth in software development. This aspect sometimes makes introverts feel inadequate when taking social cues from the loudest and most outgoing members of society. However, we need to recognize the strength embedded in cultivating a small circle of trusted individuals.

00:23:06.370 In fostering authentic, strong connections, introverts can collaborate effectively in challenging situations, whether solving stubborn bugs or exploring new technologies. When you discover that a colleague genuinely cares about your insights into Elixir or struggles with integrating features, that bond strengthens your capacity to tackle challenges. While introverts may seem to struggle with relationship building, they are often merely more discerning regarding the depth of their connections, valuing substance over quantity.

00:24:27.830 Superpower number three is that introverts are often acutely aware of their work environment and work to optimize it for maximum productivity. One fascinating study assessed introvert responses to external stimuli. Researchers gathered two groups: one of 70 introverts and one of 70 extroverts. They enclosed each person in a room with headphones and introduced varying volumes of noise, measuring comfort levels as individuals adjusted the volume to what was most accommodating. The average volume setting for introverts was about 55 decibels, while for extroverts it was a louder 75 decibels. When both groups tackled complex problem-solving tasks while wearing headphones, performance declined if their setup was outside their personal comfort zone.

00:25:37.780 This leads me to suggest that introverts, often more sensitive to environmental changes, are likely to tailor their workspaces to enhance focus, ensuring they can concentrate without distractions. This might explain their inclination toward optimizing tools and editors, using them to lower the cognitive load experienced during mentally stimulating activities. Additionally, this sensitivity to stimulus is increasingly reflected in organizations that embrace remote work, enabling employees to achieve heightened productivity and satisfaction within thoughtfully devised environments.

00:27:58.500 So, I reached out to Nathan Lad, a developer I noticed on Twitter, who mentioned that he was also an introvert and was employed in a distributed company, which prioritizes employee productivity and interpersonal relationships. With all these factors in mind, the fourth strength introverts hold is the ability to work effectively under sleep-deprived conditions, especially in high-pressure situations where creativity and critical thinking are necessary. Studies show that introverts may be better suited for enduring stress and creating high-quality solutions than their extroverted colleagues under specific circumstances.

00:29:38.178 To sum up, these superpowers include: being natural deep thinkers, nurturing impactful relationships, having the ability to optimize your work environment, and excelling under late-night conditions. Finally, I want to highlight that if you've grappled with feelings of inadequacy for not embodying an outgoing persona, remember that your unique traits as an introverted programmer are invaluable in this industry, where we truly need your authentic contributions.