Anti-Fragile – Nassim Taleb
Book - Antifragile by Nicholas Nassim Taleb
As a young Australian male from a relatively privileged background, we are focused on pushing to make more money, be more successful, have more friends, do more good things. But what this can lead to is the classic ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ mentality of being over leveraged, stuck in a job we don't like trying to provide a lifestyle which we don't even necessarily want.
This situation is the ultimate ‘fragile’ life - we only give ourselves self-worth from our jobs, and personal satisfaction comes only from making more money or other external stimuli.
When that stops (from burning out, or through sheer bad luck), where does it leave us?
The Book -
“That which does not kill me, makes me stronger” Antifragile, Taleb’s fourth book, explores this central concept. It builds on the theories laid out in ‘Black Swan’. He proposes what he has termed "antifragility" in systems; that is, an ability to benefit and grow from a certain class of random events, errors, and volatility.
The central idea is that anti-fragile things — which benefit from randomness or variability — exist, and that such things are distinct from the fragile — which are harmed by it, and the robust — which are left largely unchanged by it.
Taleb at times seems constitutionally angry, dismissive, and contrarian--sometimes to the point of being an asshole. However, one cannot deny his talent of conveying crucially important concepts in a clear and entertaining fashion.
I would rather have every one of my biases and heuristics kicked around so I will reconsider where they came from--and whether to keep them--than be coddled and comforted
