Reading about the value of being an introvert at the American Libraries column, I was reminded of this Doctor Johnson quote:
"When I was running about this town a very poor fellow, I was a great arguer for the advantages of poverty; but I was, at the same time, very sorry to be poor. Sir, all the arguments which are brought to represent poverty as no evil, shew it to be a great evil. You never find people labouring to convince you that you may live very happily upon a plentiful fortune."
That is, people praise introversion because they instinctively know it requires a defense, whereas extroversion does not.
