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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
One o those rare books that changed the way that I see the world. I don't always agree with Taleb, but he'll be remembered for his analysis of the "antifragile".
challenging
informative
slow-paced
challenging
informative
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
He literally says he's glad Sylvia Plath didn't take antidepressants, because then we wouldn't have her poetry. She looked herself at 30.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
DNF - the central idea of this book is super interesting, that certain things grow/improve when stressed, but the writing is so painful that I could not finish it.
This book is an excellent example of modern philosophy. It takes a quite simple (yet profound) concept and tries really really hard to make it sound as smart, complex, and nuanced as possible. I really wanted to read about more examples, but could not wade through the slosh to get there.
The other real mistake in the book is how much he talks boastfully about himself. I was genuinely surprised how many times he felt he had to add that he decided to look the part of a bodyguard instead of hiring one (..because some bankers were mad at him..?) Now I'm not one to judge someone's physical appearance and fitness is a great thing to care about, but if you brag in a book multiple times about how you look like a bodyguard, you better actually look like one, and he does not.
Michael Slur describes this problem so well, "if we can get past the fact that a lot of those philosophers wrote infuriatingly dense prose that gives you an instant tension headache, we might arm ourselves with their theories, use them when we make decisions, and be a little better today than we were yesterday." In this case, I could not get past it.
This book is an excellent example of modern philosophy. It takes a quite simple (yet profound) concept and tries really really hard to make it sound as smart, complex, and nuanced as possible. I really wanted to read about more examples, but could not wade through the slosh to get there.
The other real mistake in the book is how much he talks boastfully about himself. I was genuinely surprised how many times he felt he had to add that he decided to look the part of a bodyguard instead of hiring one (..because some bankers were mad at him..?) Now I'm not one to judge someone's physical appearance and fitness is a great thing to care about, but if you brag in a book multiple times about how you look like a bodyguard, you better actually look like one, and he does not.
Michael Slur describes this problem so well, "if we can get past the fact that a lot of those philosophers wrote infuriatingly dense prose that gives you an instant tension headache, we might arm ourselves with their theories, use them when we make decisions, and be a little better today than we were yesterday." In this case, I could not get past it.