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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Could not get into the concept but maybe it wasn’t the right timing for me. Will try again later
At the core a great critique of the modern world and a warning about the fragility of our systems. Also great insight to define anti-fragile as the negative fragility as opposed to resilience/robustness. Great ideas definitely was worth the time but I wish Taleb were not this angry/rambling/repetitive.
Worth reading due to the original ideas but the author's style is tough.
I found this book very slow going. To say I liked it is a definite misnomer, but this is an interesting book, and though it was hard for me to overcome the frequent bouts of extreme irritation, I am glad I read it.
Especially in the first part (or perhaps also later, but by that time I had got used to it) there are numerous irksome sweeping generalizations (e.g.
The central idea is the notion of antifragility: something that strengthens under (not excessive) stress, or also
So the story goes, if something is antifragile it should be stressed, and you can make yourself stronger in various aspects of your life by using suitable stressors.
As the author recognises, this idea had been touched upon before, but to him goes the merit of describing it in its full implications and in bringing it to the fore.
When it comes to describing it in its full implications, Taleb overdoes it: it drags on and on with examples, and often it stretches it too far. For instance, when talking about his own exercise regime, Taleb tells us that
There are also many things to like: besides the central idea, which is interesting and original, Taleb can be funny, pleasantly exuberant, and makes several interesting and compelling points on economists, economics, regulators and academia, like the importance for forcasters to have "skin in the game" for their predictions to be taken seriously (though i am not sure that this warrants labeling all academic economists as a waste of space).
Pity Taleb did not make the book twice as short, could not resist indulging in self satisfied musing I very much doubt the average reader will care about, and felt compelled to apply his notions to every possible situation under the sun. Still, worth a read.
Especially in the first part (or perhaps also later, but by that time I had got used to it) there are numerous irksome sweeping generalizations (e.g.
we think linearly, and these dose-dependent responses are nonlinear). Our linear minds do not like nuances and reduce the information to the binary "harmful" and "helpful": sorry, says who?) and the occasional ego trip (e.g. when defining the "corpus" of his literary production) that I was surprised at myself for keeping going. But in the end I think it was worth is, and, with these caveats, I would recommend this book, as Taleb comes across as an original and interesting thinker (though he could have conveyed his message in a much shorter book).
The central idea is the notion of antifragility: something that strengthens under (not excessive) stress, or also
anything that has more upside than downside from random events (or certain shocks) is antifragility; the reverse is fragile.
So the story goes, if something is antifragile it should be stressed, and you can make yourself stronger in various aspects of your life by using suitable stressors.
As the author recognises, this idea had been touched upon before, but to him goes the merit of describing it in its full implications and in bringing it to the fore.
When it comes to describing it in its full implications, Taleb overdoes it: it drags on and on with examples, and often it stretches it too far. For instance, when talking about his own exercise regime, Taleb tells us that
This method consisted of short episodes in the gym in which one focused solely on improving one's past maximum in a single lift, the heaviest weight one could haul, sort of the high-water mark.Good for him if it serves him well, but with Andrew Marr's stroke caused by a bout of strenous exercise in mind, I would not recommend this style of exercise to any of my friends, nor I would persevere if I were Taleb! Or, in order to extend the notion to as many fields as possible, he considers plain wrong examples, e.g.
But the optimal policy is to avoid alcohol three times a week (hence give the liver a lengthy vacation) then drink liberally the remaining fourwhile current medical wisdom states the complete opposite (just search for ethanol binge in Google Scholar and be horrified). And so on.
There are also many things to like: besides the central idea, which is interesting and original, Taleb can be funny, pleasantly exuberant, and makes several interesting and compelling points on economists, economics, regulators and academia, like the importance for forcasters to have "skin in the game" for their predictions to be taken seriously (though i am not sure that this warrants labeling all academic economists as a waste of space).
Pity Taleb did not make the book twice as short, could not resist indulging in self satisfied musing I very much doubt the average reader will care about, and felt compelled to apply his notions to every possible situation under the sun. Still, worth a read.
لطفا سوسیالیستها، علمگراها و ایرانیها این کتاب رو بخونن. با تشکر
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
informative
inspiring
reflective
Definitely an interesting concept but I felt like it had some redundancy throughout. It's thorough but I think could have done with a little less flourish and arrogance throughout.