extrospective

extrospective adj : not introspective; examining what is outside ones self

Just as "introspective" has positive and negative innuendo (both "deep" and "navel-gazing" could synonymize), I have heard extrospective used to mean both: one who talks about external events to the exclusion of (usually much-needed) self-analysis; and one who has a deep understanding of the world's workings.

An extrospective person is one who observes, examines, or studies the world around him. He looks at the behavior and interactions of others with their environment or each other. He doesn't take part in the events, he watches them take place, records them and learns from them. (From the latin words extra- meaning "outside" + specere meaning "to look"). Natural scientists obtain data extrospectively.

This is not to be confused with an extrovert (extra-, "outside" + vertere, "to turn") who is a person who has more interest in his environment and others than in himself. An extrovert participates, while an extrospective person observes.