The gist: Introvert. The word is more popular than ever. But what does it really mean? And are you one? We went to the end of the earth to find out.

What, exactly, is an introvert? The word has gained real popularity recently and people around the world seem to be coming out of the woodwork to declare, “That’s what I am! I’m an introvert!”

Here at Riskology, we consider ourselves introverts but, if we’re being totally honest, we don’t all agree on what that means and often struggle to explain it in elegant terms when someone asks us, “What do you mean, you’re an introvert?”

So, we set out to answer the question once and for all.

We dug into the history of personality science. We scoured the latest research and analyzed pop culture references. And we interviewed highly credentialed professionals in the field.

If we could break it down into three key findings, we’d say introverts:

1. Have deep, rich inner-lives. It’s hard to overstate how “inside their own heads” introverts are.
2. Prefer solitude to busy environments. Introverts are most at home… at home.
3. Enjoy people, but prefer fewer, deep relationships. It’s all about quality over quantity.

But boiling down an entire personality type to just three bullet points can’t begin to explain the complex and fascinating traits of introverts.

What follows is a deep, multi-faceted look at what it means to be an introvert. Not just in the academic sense, but in the “How does this affect my daily life sense?”

So, where to start? How about at the beginning.