I don't think you could have come up with a comment that more perfectly illustrated the GP's comments. An introvert trying to understand being an extrovert is like a white guy trying to understand what it's like to be black. It's not who you are, so no amount of pretending is going to give you a true understanding.

I'm very much an introvert, but over the years, I've learned that networking is a critical part of being successful in any business endeavor, and it is nearly impossible to network following typical introvert patterns. As a result, I will go up to a group standing around at a social event, throw out my hand, and say "Hi, I'm Travis. What's your name?" even though I hate every second of it (and, given the sieve my brain is when it comes to names, I will likely forget before we are done talking :/).

Given that, I don't believe for an instant that I understand being an extrovert. My wife is the prototypical extrovert. She will have life-long friends within minutes of entering a room full of people she's never met before. I will never understand how she does it, but more importantly, I will never understand why she does it.