Antifragile
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Taleb's idea that some things gain from disorder, volatility, stress, and that modern systems that suppress volatility become fragile. It is long, combative and brilliant in parts, with applications from medicine to finance to personal life. The barbell strategy and via negativa are practical; the digressions are optional.
Read it if…
you want to think about risk and robustness in a new way and can tolerate the author's style.
Skip it if…
you want concise advice; the book is sprawling and the author is quarrelsome.
Three things you will actually use
- Combine very safe with small, bold bets.
- Remove fragilities before adding strengths.
- Have skin in the game.
Do this first
List what in your life would break under stress and one way to add optionality to it.
Our verdict
Brilliant, bloated and worth the effort for serious readers.
Compare with other Resilience books
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Encouraging and familiar; a good read after a setback.
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Necessary Endings
Henry Cloud · Resilience
Clear and wise; the best book on quitting things properly.
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David and Goliath
Malcolm Gladwell · Resilience
Provocative and uneven; worth reading for the reframe.
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