Derek Thompson

Maybe the deeper and more complicated idea here is that I think that many people mistakenly seek too much solitude because they believe that it's good for them. So here's what I mean. There was a study that was done, one of my favorite studies in the piece, by Nick Epley, who's a psychologist at the University of Chicago.

Maybe the deeper and more complicated idea here is that I think that many people mistakenly seek too much solitude because they believe that it's good for them. So here's what I mean. There was a study that was done, one of my favorite studies in the piece, by Nick Epley, who's a psychologist at the University of Chicago.

And he did this fascinating study where he asked commuter train passengers to make a prediction. How would they feel if they were asked to spend the ride talking to a stranger? And like, you know, think to yourself, how would you feel? Well, a lot of people said like, you know, no, wait, quiet solitude is going to make for a much better commute than having a long chat with someone I don't know.

And he did this fascinating study where he asked commuter train passengers to make a prediction. How would they feel if they were asked to spend the ride talking to a stranger? And like, you know, think to yourself, how would you feel? Well, a lot of people said like, you know, no, wait, quiet solitude is going to make for a much better commute than having a long chat with someone I don't know.

And he did this fascinating study where he asked commuter train passengers to make a prediction. How would they feel if they were asked to spend the ride talking to a stranger? And like, you know, think to yourself, how would you feel? Well, a lot of people said like, you know, no, wait, quiet solitude is going to make for a much better commute than having a long chat with someone I don't know.

They might not be interested in me. They might be awkward and weird. I don't want to do it. So we ran an experiment. And some people were asked to keep to themselves, and some people were instructed to talk to a stranger. And they were told the longer the conversation, the better. The deeper the conversation, the better. And afterward, people filled out a questionnaire. How did they feel?

They might not be interested in me. They might be awkward and weird. I don't want to do it. So we ran an experiment. And some people were asked to keep to themselves, and some people were instructed to talk to a stranger. And they were told the longer the conversation, the better. The deeper the conversation, the better. And afterward, people filled out a questionnaire. How did they feel?

They might not be interested in me. They might be awkward and weird. I don't want to do it. So we ran an experiment. And some people were asked to keep to themselves, and some people were instructed to talk to a stranger. And they were told the longer the conversation, the better. The deeper the conversation, the better. And afterward, people filled out a questionnaire. How did they feel?

And despite this strong assumption that the best commute is a silent one, Two things were found. Number one, that people instructed to talk to strangers reported feeling significantly more positive than those that kept to themselves. And maybe most importantly, that effect size was just as strong for introverts versus extroverts.

And despite this strong assumption that the best commute is a silent one, Two things were found. Number one, that people instructed to talk to strangers reported feeling significantly more positive than those that kept to themselves. And maybe most importantly, that effect size was just as strong for introverts versus extroverts.

And despite this strong assumption that the best commute is a silent one, Two things were found. Number one, that people instructed to talk to strangers reported feeling significantly more positive than those that kept to themselves. And maybe most importantly, that effect size was just as strong for introverts versus extroverts.

And what Epley says, the title of this paper is called Mistakenly Seeking Solitude, is that many people, especially in an economy that allows us to keep to ourselves, assume that we'll be happier keeping to ourselves. But in a weird way, if we were forced by external forces, essentially, if we were forced to pretend as if we were a little bit more extroverted than we feel, we might be happier.

And what Epley says, the title of this paper is called Mistakenly Seeking Solitude, is that many people, especially in an economy that allows us to keep to ourselves, assume that we'll be happier keeping to ourselves. But in a weird way, if we were forced by external forces, essentially, if we were forced to pretend as if we were a little bit more extroverted than we feel, we might be happier.

And what Epley says, the title of this paper is called Mistakenly Seeking Solitude, is that many people, especially in an economy that allows us to keep to ourselves, assume that we'll be happier keeping to ourselves. But in a weird way, if we were forced by external forces, essentially, if we were forced to pretend as if we were a little bit more extroverted than we feel, we might be happier.

And that might be the central social tragedy of our time, that we live in a world that allows us to pretend as if we are deep, deep introverts. But we might be happier if external forces forced us to pretend as if we were a little bit more extroverted than came naturally.

And that might be the central social tragedy of our time, that we live in a world that allows us to pretend as if we are deep, deep introverts. But we might be happier if external forces forced us to pretend as if we were a little bit more extroverted than came naturally.

And that might be the central social tragedy of our time, that we live in a world that allows us to pretend as if we are deep, deep introverts. But we might be happier if external forces forced us to pretend as if we were a little bit more extroverted than came naturally.

I have two things to say about this. And I also found this part of reporting incredibly interesting. I have to give a shout out to my wife because I am basically not on TikTok. And while I was deep in the weeds reporting out this essay, she says, do you know about this trend?

I have two things to say about this. And I also found this part of reporting incredibly interesting. I have to give a shout out to my wife because I am basically not on TikTok. And while I was deep in the weeds reporting out this essay, she says, do you know about this trend?

I have two things to say about this. And I also found this part of reporting incredibly interesting. I have to give a shout out to my wife because I am basically not on TikTok. And while I was deep in the weeds reporting out this essay, she says, do you know about this trend?