Author(s): Taleb Nassim Nich

SCIENCE & NATURE

In The Black Swan, 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 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? Taleb ranges over ideas and real-life situations, from why debt brings fragility, 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.