“The more I came to understand Williams syndrome and to meet a wide range of people who had it, the more I saw that the social impulses that partly defined the disorder weren't so clearly a gift. Their unique combination of gregariousness and guilelessness exposed a paradox in Western culture: we say we like extroverts, but when an extreme extrovert comes barrelling toward us with open arms, we shy away. It's not just warmth or openness that we value; these traits must be coupled with a more sophisticated sense of when to turn them on and off. People with Williams syndrome never turn them off. They have the social drive but not the cognitive ability to use it effectively.”