Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

In The Black Swan, Nassim Taleb explained the existence of high impact rare events beyond the realms of normal expectations. In his new book, Taleb goes much further. He tells us how to live in a world that is unpredictable and chaotic, and how to thrive during moments of disaster. Antifragility is about loving randomness, uncertainty, opacity, adventure and disorder, and benefitting from a variety of shocks. It is about what to do when you don't understand. It is a new word because it is a new concept. Many of the greatest breakthroughs in human endeavour come from the trial and error that is part of antifragility. And some of the best systems we know of, including evolution, have antifragility at their heart. Medicine, economics, even politics, could all be improved by embracing it. It is often what really drives innovation and invention. Our failure to realize this has even led to many huge historical misunderstandings about religion and belief. So, how can we take advantage of antifragility? What are the good things we can expose ourselves to? How do we become energized by volatility and uncertainty? Taleb ranges over ideas and real-life situations, from why debt brings fragility, why he abhors the fakeness of halfmen, why if we lose nothing we will gain nothing, and why we should detest the lack of accountability at the heart of capitalism. He shows us that chaos is what makes us human. The most successful of us, the most daring, relentless and creative will take advantage of this disorder and invent new, more powerful opportunities and advantages beyond our expectations. 'The author of the influential Black Swanreturns with a bold bookexplaining how and why we should embrace uncertainty, randomness, and error as an antidote to our fragile way of life, instead of trying to avoid mistakes and collapsing when catastrophe strikes (see 2008). It may just change our lives.'thedailybeast.com