Where did their curiosity and inquisitiveness go? It must be out there somewhere.

Still get a little shocked sometimes at how some people just seem to have chosen to present themselves as being set on a certain kind of  survival mode, especially when they choose to behave in certain ways that I wouldn't have predicted in another era. 

And I might wonder if they feel they must choose certain ways of surviving because they have experienced that human phenomenon of "hurt feelings," and they are just so determined to act impenetrable, but it just seems like a weird and inflexible way to be in the world, or at any rate, it's a path that probably would not be very good for me to follow.

It looks a wee bit too sociopathic or controlling, and I think there are some better avenues to explore.

Their survival strategy is their survival strategy for whatever reasons, but if it's that jarring to witness, then at least you know that everyone can be on a different path, and that whatever seems too inflexible to be inclusive of others is not the way for you to choose to be.