Antifragile by Nassim Taleb
Metadata
- Author: Nat Eliason
- Full Title: Antifragile by Nassim Taleb
- URL: https://nateliason.com/notes/antifragile
Highlights
Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty. (View Highlight)
Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.” (View Highlight)
Another way to formulate it is: anything that has more upside than downside from random events shocks. An egg will not benefit from having a 5lb weight put on it, but your body can become stronger through similar stresses. (View Highlight)
Buridan’s Donkey A donkey equally hungry and thirsty stuck between a bale of hay and water will die of starvation and thirst, unable to make a decision between the two. However, a random nudge in one direction will solve the problem for him. Randomness can help with decision making and becoming unstuck, but when we try to reduce it, we lose that beneficial stressor. (View Highlight)
Another example: static background noise makes it easier to pick up radio signals. Writing in cafés with background conversations helps you focus. We want a little stress, but not too much. (View Highlight)
Taleb points out that procrastination is not always bad, it is something deep within us that is able to identify the urgency of a problem. We don’t procrastinate when a lion is attacking, but procrastinating responding to an email is probably fine. Related, the cure to procrastination on the job is not to force yourself to create systems that fix it, rather, to find an occupation where you do not have to fight your impulses and where you do not procrastinate. (View Highlight)
I’ve come to believe more and more that the right book and idea is not about completely teaching you something new, rather, helping you fully articulate something you have already begun to think about. (View Highlight)review - Note: Agreed, good books/articles give you the vocabulary to describe things you’ve thought through but can’t quite communicate eloquently yet.
Do not invest in business plans but in people, people who could change careers six or seven times (View Highlight)review
If you have more than one reason to do something, don’t do it. By invoking more than one reason to do something, you are trying to convince yourself to do it. Obvious decisions (robust to errors) require no more than one good reason (View Highlight)review
In nature, we had to expend energy to eat. Lions do not eat then hunt for fun. Fasting is quite good for us, and natural. We do not need to load up on food before doing something, rather, re-feed after. (View Highlight)review
I would add that, in my own experience, a considerable jump in my personal health has been achieved by removing offensive irritants: the morning newspapers (the mere mention of the names of the fragilista journalists Thomas Friedman or Paul Krugman can lead to explosive bouts of unrequited anger on my part), the boss, the daily commute, air-conditioning (though not heating), television, emails from documentary filmmakers, economic forecasts, news about the stock market, gym “strength training” machines, and many more.” (View Highlight)review
Antifragile by Nassim Taleb
Metadata
- Author: Nat Eliason
- Full Title: Antifragile by Nassim Taleb
- URL: https://nateliason.com/notes/antifragile
Highlights
Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty. (View Highlight)review
Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.” (View Highlight)review
Another way to formulate it is: anything that has more upside than downside from random events shocks. An egg will not benefit from having a 5lb weight put on it, but your body can become stronger through similar stresses. (View Highlight)review
Buridan’s Donkey A donkey equally hungry and thirsty stuck between a bale of hay and water will die of starvation and thirst, unable to make a decision between the two. However, a random nudge in one direction will solve the problem for him. Randomness can help with decision making and becoming unstuck, but when we try to reduce it, we lose that beneficial stressor. (View Highlight)review
Another example: static background noise makes it easier to pick up radio signals. Writing in cafés with background conversations helps you focus. We want a little stress, but not too much. (View Highlight)review
Taleb points out that procrastination is not always bad, it is something deep within us that is able to identify the urgency of a problem. We don’t procrastinate when a lion is attacking, but procrastinating responding to an email is probably fine. Related, the cure to procrastination on the job is not to force yourself to create systems that fix it, rather, to find an occupation where you do not have to fight your impulses and where you do not procrastinate. (View Highlight)review
I’ve come to believe more and more that the right book and idea is not about completely teaching you something new, rather, helping you fully articulate something you have already begun to think about. (View Highlight)review - Note: Agreed, good books/articles give you the vocabulary to describe things you’ve thought through but can’t quite communicate eloquently yet.
Do not invest in business plans but in people, people who could change careers six or seven times (View Highlight)review
If you have more than one reason to do something, don’t do it. By invoking more than one reason to do something, you are trying to convince yourself to do it. Obvious decisions (robust to errors) require no more than one good reason (View Highlight)review
In nature, we had to expend energy to eat. Lions do not eat then hunt for fun. Fasting is quite good for us, and natural. We do not need to load up on food before doing something, rather, re-feed after. (View Highlight)review
I would add that, in my own experience, a considerable jump in my personal health has been achieved by removing offensive irritants: the morning newspapers (the mere mention of the names of the fragilista journalists Thomas Friedman or Paul Krugman can lead to explosive bouts of unrequited anger on my part), the boss, the daily commute, air-conditioning (though not heating), television, emails from documentary filmmakers, economic forecasts, news about the stock market, gym “strength training” machines, and many more.” (View Highlight)review