Antifragile is about how we should measure risk. Taleb starts by providing a basic definition that will be the focus of the entire book. Some events or objects are anti-fragile. Others are fragile. Something that is fragile is vulnerable to stress. Ex: A porcelain coffee cup. A robust object can withstand shocks. Ex: A steel door. … Read more
It is easier to live in a comfortable illusion and believe that people are basically good, and that you are too. Taken to an extreme, this can become pathological. The person that does not want to see reality for what it is does not solve their problems, but only compounds them. Where bad eyesight can … Read more
“I care not so much what I am to others as what I am to myself.” – Michel De Montaigne Self-Determination Theory When something is intrinsically motivating, you don’t care about the external reward. If you intrinsically enjoy playing music, you will do so even if you are not paid to and there is no … Read more
The most painful death is the ego death. It requires you to take stock of who you are and what you believe in and make a conscious effort to destroy the fundamental constructs of your mental models about the world. But what is the ego? Unlike the Freudian definition – which situated the ego as … Read more
Character to Personality “We are social creatures” – true, but what happens when we care too much about what people think? In her book Quiet, Susan Cain describes how the US moved from being a character culture to a personality culture. Qualities such as honor, hard work, and loyalty were common ideals, but eventually were … Read more
“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time” – Jim Rohn As one stage in life ends and another begins, you will think about how fleeting time is. It will occur to you that there are things you could have done, that will have made the present … Read more
Chaos is defined as the unknown, the dangerous, and the unexpected. Jordan Peterson talks about chaos as the central theme of the hero’s journey. The hero, trying to restore order and safety to the world, ventures out into the chaotic abyss and encounters dangers and challenges. Maneuvering through the maze of chaos is the fundamental … Read more
The Singularity is Near I recently watched “Transcendent Man”. It was entertaining as well as thought-provoking. The documentary forced me to appreciate the complexity of the world we live in, and how we can easily develop systems that go out of our control. Some people, like Sam Harris, have gone on to say that it’s the … Read more
What is the Inverted U? The Inverted U In his book, David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell explains “The inverted U”. It’s a two-dimensional graph where the ease of parenting is measured vertically, while inherited wealth is measured horizontally and is a representation of data on people with varying levels of wealth. The graph is represented … Read more
A Better Experience Saving Time How much time has technology saved you? It’s amazing that not long ago, you needed payphones, notebooks, clunky alarm clocks, leather phone-books, photo albums, and hardcover encyclopedias. You needed travel agencies, postmen, and operators. But has technology gotten in the way of a better experience? You are spoiled by the … Read more