My Anti-Fragility (or Fragility)

Recently, I spent two weeks in the beautiful West Coast of Canada. It provided me with some spaces and time, to think and read.

I read two books written by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, “The Black Swan” and “Anti-fragile”.

The Idea of Black Swan and Anti-Fragile

Good books talk about one single profound message which could potentially change your life. This is exactly what “The Black Swan” and “Anti-fragile” do. The idea is that the world is unpredictable; and the improbable events are those that would have enormous, extraordinary impact on the world, and our world. To live in it, you need to be resilient. To appreciate the beauty of it, you need to be anti-fragile.

Being fragile is like a being an antique vase. You could look as pretty as it is. But once it falls on the ground, it breaks. Being resilient is like a stone. You fall on the ground, not much happens and you are just fine. Chess master win by not losing, people become rich by not going bust, learning of life is about what to avoid. Being anti-fragile is like a wild-fire. As opposed to a candle, wind blows and energizes fire. We want to be the fire and wish for the wind.

The collapse of Lehman Brothers was the perfect example of a Black Swan Event. (The Black Swan was written before the event; and someone said the author successfully predicted the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Obviously, they missed the point. But we could talk about that in another article).

Black Swans in my Life and My Anti-fragility (or Fragility)

I could not help but evaluate my anti-fragilility when reading this book. The sad truth, at least for now, is that I am rather fragile. I play by the rules, get a day job, and generally dislike changes. I like things moving forward according to the plans I make (well - who doesn't). However, being too attached to a plan is exactly the key characteristic of being fragile.

Thinking more about it, a few major, apparently insignificant incidents and unexpected changes did move my life in major (fortunately positive) directions, a) entering HKU and joining the debate team, b) going to Myanmar as a volunteer for a month, c) moving to Taiwan. 

Living in a World Moved by Black Swans

Unlike poker and casinos, where we know the rules and can calculate the odds (if you are good at Maths, which I am not); in the real world, we do not know the odds, we need to discover them. And we will only know ourself when we face options and choices.  

So the question we have now is - how do we live in this world which does not want us to understand it (which is the beauty of this world).

My take is we should seek for true, anti-fragile wealth - in worry-less sleeping, clear conscience, absence of envy, good appetite, physical energy, and periodic surprises. Embrace changes and look for options. Want less.

Again, these two books are master piece and there are so many quotes I would like to share here. One of my favourites is - “The glass is dead; living things are long volatility. The best way to verify that you are alive is by checking if you like variations. Remember that food would not have a taste if it weren’t for hunger; results are meaningless without effort, joy without sadness, convictions without uncertainty and an ethical life isn’t so when stripped of personal risks. ”

I have been struggling with a major decision of my life recently. With the above, it seems that the answer is pretty clear. 

All the best to each and every one of you who are facing major decisions in your lives. Let's be anti-fragile.