Dr. Thomas Tago

I guess you can say they mean what environments are you most comfortable in, where are you able to express yourself the most and be you to the fullest.

I am a neuroscientist by training with a speciality in behaviour, learning and memory and some aspects of mental health.

So if we put it on that spectrum, then those on one side, being your extroverts, fall

find it easy to be in spaces where they must speak a lot and just engage a lot with people.

Highly stimulating environments, they're like fishing water.

Then you come to the other end of the spectrum, so you have your introverts.

Highly stimulating environments aren't great in terms of external stimulation, but then they are great with internal stimulation.

And that is where they then draw their energies from.

Do you consider yourself an extrovert or an introvert?

I think I'll consider myself as an introvert, but I have the benefit of being able to stray and visit extrovert territory and return back home as and when needed.

So introvert me would like to be by myself, working on whatever I need to, and I'll only step out for lunch and come back.

But then extrovert version may require going and having a lecture and engage the class for two hours and be very positive and engaging in field questions.

So I can step out and do that.

There's that need to sort of almost come back to my safe space and just recuperate.

No, no, no, it's not quite right at all.

And I think you've hit the spot on introversion, extroversion is on a different spectrum by itself.

So there are all these different parameters.

And since the 1800s, people have been asking these questions and trying to categorize it.

And that's where these big five personality traits come from.

Each one is a spectrum and you can score anywhere along it from one end to the other.