I saw a Twitter thread last night, which I can’t find now. Just as well.

The point of it was that the author was seated next to a young man and woman who were apparently on a first date. He was giving a play-by-play of how the young man was failing, and honestly, it pissed me off a bit. His basic assumption seemed to be that the guy should have been more glib and talkative, to match how glib and talkative the young woman was. Also that he should have more interests to share with her, because she likes travel and this and that and the other.

It struck me that one reason why this bothered me is that he was essentially saying this guy was a bad prospect for life-long partner because he’s introverted, not effusive nor a witty raconteur.

The thing is, I’d bet that the vast majority of successful relationships are not between people who are the same. For example, Mrs. FBW was always much more social, more interested in going places than I am. I read somewhere a relationship described as one being the kite, and the other the tail. Without the tail, the kite flies all over the place unpredictably. Without the kite, the tail stays on the ground. Put them together and you’ve got something that both flies and is stable.