Antifragile. Could we be antifragile being 20?. Let’s start clearing out the concept.
ANTI-FRAGILILE
As a twitter user (yes…I use social media, but only Twitter for X reasons), some interesting people that I’ve been following since some years recommended a book of Nassim Nicholas Taleb, called “Antifragile”. Being a book lover, I decided to buy it and after read it, suddently my thoughts changed.
Okey, the meaning. We live in ongoing uncertainty. We are sometimes shocked. We experienced events that we wouldn’t imagine never before. And the younger you are, the greater the hit. Who didn’t go through some bad time due to an unexpected occurrence? Everyone. Thus, people who are exposed to these events and do not have the foresight to avoid them, usually, fail.
Now, Taleb mentioned that these exposures may be preventable (depending on the nature of them). And not only preventable, but one can even become stronger after it. How?. Take a look to following graph:
So, any habitant’s goal must be to come up being Robust i.e. resistant to the unkwon event. Even better would be the state of Resilience, following a adaptability path that end up being beneficial. However, the best case would be to innovate, that is, Antifragile.
Coming Down From The Cloud
The reader after the first chapter: “Ander…what a fuck are you talking about? Please, givi me an example”. Okey, I’ll do it.
Imagine two brothers. One works as a manager at a bank, the other an independent taxi driver. Now, who would be more antifragile?. Think a little bit before you step to the next paragraph.
While common perception will deem the banker to be better off, the taxi driver is more antifragile. Why? Simple. The banker relies on a steady monthly income check that doesn't vary (yes, he can gain much more money than his brother), however, will he survive if a economic recession is coming?. I would say not, thus, apart from being lay off as bank employee, he will have a lot of difficulties to find a job in this field, coming up from the crisis being very antifragile. On the other hand, the taxi driver, has built up valuable knowledge of navigating the streets and has a taxi license that is limited and hard to attain that makes him competitive and secure well into old age. The taxi driver's income has higher variability, some good days, some bad days, but in average the same as the banker without the illusion of steady non-volatility the banker presumes he has.
Clear enough? No?. Okey, one more. I’ll pick up a pig and a writter.
A pig lives as a king during its short lifetime. Briefly, it has a total freedom to eat, get dirty on mud or whatever it is, however, what happens when when its get the pig slaughter day? All the hapiness during his life collapse. Whereas being a writter, you just need to do the activity that that you most like, receiving money in an exponential way (in you are good and sell the books, of course).
A good writter life (for instance, Taleb)
A pigs life (for instance, the ones grow up in Amezketa)
Cover your Downside and Seek Optionality
The lesson is clear. The first step toward antifragility consists in first decreasing downside, rather than increasing upside; that is, by lowering exposure to negative and unkwon events and similarly letting natural antifragility work by itself. That is, we must try to follow a pattern towards optionality and evade disastrous consequences.
Uncertainty has been always in this world and it seems that doesn’t go out from it. Antifragile people gets beaten up as the rest, however, their expousre to the hit and their actitude toward it, is the make-changer for their future pathways. The same can’t be say for fragile humans. In few words, the antifragile lives is based on low-volatility (i.e. little degree of variation) such as the taxi driver, experiencing good and bad “few”moments, though they can’t be wipe out.
Try to find activities in your life that have optionality (for example, meet different people that can change your life, make a business from scratch or just try to study different things). It is not as easy as it seems.
Could we be Antifragile?
I have asked myself more than once if I could be antifragile at 21. I think that this is difficult to answer and depends on each person life.
The main reason for it is because we are inexperience, quite fragile to a sudden unexpected events that could potentially harm us. It’s more, I do think that some pain is useful to young people to readdress their life, however, they shouldn’t be so painful that might not give the chance to change it. Thus, I try every day to follow the path of the “antifragilitism” to become a stronger shield against any crazy event, creating this manner a routine in my day-to-day life (one of it would be not smoke. Being an asthmatic, by not smoking I promote a healthier lungs and consquently, better quality of life).
The exposure to be hurt is relevant (don’t be a fucking idiot cross the street when the traffic light is red), however, I can choose which will be my actitude against it.
Unfortunetely, I realized that these type of concepts (as well as the most valuable principles of our lifes) are not teached in schools (by the way, academics are normally fragile). Enjoy your life taking in consideration the rule of the nature. I invite you to record in your minds the next words from Senecca:
“If you have more to lose than to benefit from events of fate, there is an asymmetry, and not a good one… You are fragile. “
PD: If I had to advise one book to read to a non-book-lover I would choose this. Even though, have in mind that some chapter are difficult to follow up.