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Antifragile
Things That Gain from Disorder
Some things seem to improve if they are placed in environments of volatility and unpredictability. Antifragile (2014) analyzes why this is the case. It suggests that this quality has been vital for the progress of human civilization since ancient times.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb takes a critical look at modern society and its aim to smooth out life by interfering in systems like the economy. Far from making society a better place, this interfering nature is destroying the volatile environment essential for antifragility to take place.
This is a Blinkist staff pick
“These blinks changed the way I think about systems and processes. They explain how, while most things break when they’re put under stress, a few, incredibly important things get stronger and stronger. If we want to build a world where things keep getting better, these blinks are critical reading.”
– Thomas, English Editorial Lead at Blinkist
- Anyone who wants to know why some systems improve over time
- Anyone who wants to know how to take advantage of uncertainty
- Anyone interested in why crises happen
Nassim Nicholas Taleb is an academic and author of bestselling works such as The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness. He has devoted his life to studying the cause and effects of uncertainty and probability. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at New York University’s Polytechnic Institute.
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Antifragile
Things That Gain from Disorder
- Read in 19 minutes
- Audio & text available
- Contains 12 key ideas
Synopsis
Some things seem to improve if they are placed in environments of volatility and unpredictability. Antifragile (2014) analyzes why this is the case. It suggests that this quality has been vital for the progress of human civilization since ancient times.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb takes a critical look at modern society and its aim to smooth out life by interfering in systems like the economy. Far from making society a better place, this interfering nature is destroying the volatile environment essential for antifragility to take place.
This is a Blinkist staff pick
“These blinks changed the way I think about systems and processes. They explain how, while most things break when they’re put under stress, a few, incredibly important things get stronger and stronger. If we want to build a world where things keep getting better, these blinks are critical reading.”
– Thomas, English Editorial Lead at Blinkist
Key idea 1 of 12
The antifragility of a system depends on the fragility of its constituent parts.
A good example of antifragility is the evolutionary process; it thrives in a volatile environment. With each shock, evolution forces life forms to transform, mutate and improve to become better suited to their environment.
Yet when you look closely at the evolutionary process, something very interesting becomes clear. While the process itself is undoubtedly antifragile, each individual organism itself is fragile. For evolution to occur, all that matters is that the successful genetic code is passed on. The individuals themselves are unimportant and die in the process. In fact, the system needs this to happen to free up living space for more successful individuals to thrive.
The evolutionary process demonstrates a key trait of antifragility. In order for the system as a whole to be antifragile, most of its constituent parts must be fragile. This is because the success or failure of these parts acts as pieces of information, informing the system of what works and what doesn’t.
Think of it as trial and error. The mistakes and successes of each individual part provide the information as to what succeeds and what doesn’t. The price of failure in evolution is extinction; therefore, every failure actually improves the overall quality of all life that has evolved.
Another example of antifragility can be seen in the economy. Its constituent parts, from one-person artisan workshops to huge corporations, are somewhat fragile but the economy itself is antifragile. For the economy to grow, it needs some of these parts to fail. The failure of a start-up in the coffee making business, for example, will make that industry stronger overall, as other coffee manufacturers learn from their mistakes.
The antifragility of a system depends on the fragility of its constituent parts.
Key ideas in this title
- The antifragility of a system depends on the fragility of its constituent parts.
- Shocks and stressors strengthen antifragile systems by forcing them to build up extra capacity.
- Tranquil environments result in fragile systems – antifragility stems from volatility.
- To take advantage of antifragility you don’t need to understand the opportunities you see, just when to seize them.
- To become antifragile, manage your risks so you can benefit from unpredictable events.
- The larger the organisation or system is, the harder it will be hit by unexpected crises.
- Many modern professions are antifragile, but at everybody else’s expense.
- Our desire to eliminate volatility from life will eventually make our society more fragile.
- Modern teaching suffers from a “turkey problem” – we misread the past to predict the future.
- We undervalue the role of antifragility in fuelling progress and advances in society.
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