Otrovert; The gift of not belonging to a community
How outsiders shape our future and that of our children
I must have met him at one of the school seminars. He was tall, thin, wore earrings, and had a very friendly manner. Most people who spoke to him misunderstood him. Or, to be more precise, they didn't even bother to listen to him.
He had one or two friends, but no one would say he belonged to a group. Not because society rejected him, but because, I suppose, he didn't want to. But don't get me wrong. He wasn't introverted. He talked to other people, he seemed to enjoy it and ultimately accept it. But he wasn't extroverted either. So what was he?
Based on a new psychological theory by Robert Kaminski (2025), there is a new type of classification that is neither introversion nor extroversion. It is called otrovertion. As mentioned above, these individuals enjoy one-on-one communication and do not tire of socializing, but they still do not fall within the introversion-extroversion spectrum.
Since I was young, I liked to explore the meaning of the word “outsider”. Not because it is bad, but because society has given it a negative connotation. A negative label.
Those who do not belong to our society may be people with mental illnesses, people with physical or intellectual disabilities, people with financial problems, or people with what society considers to be a "strange" appearance.
They may also be people who disagree with our fast-paced lifestyle, people with specific ideologies, and anything else that seems strange to us.
But how do these people affect our society? One might say that by taking on critical roles, such as teachers, therapists, or politicians, they can shape our society. However, the truth is a little more complicated:
In order for a system to be maintained, regardless of its ideology or how it was built, there must also be an opposing side. This is the case with good and evil. So our society is influenced by people who are different, in a uniquely special way.
The gift of not belonging to any community is perhaps one of the greatest gifts you can ever receive. You won't have anxiety, you won't have guilt, but above all, you will be yourself in a society that constantly pursues social stereotypes and acceptance.
And even if there are people like the one with the earrings, society tries to exterminate them like a child stepping on ants.
Why? Because it cannot stigmatize them. Or even if it does, it won't matter. Maybe that's why they are so strong after all...