Antifragile Author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb Publisher: CITIC Press

Fragile things, such as big banks and stock markets, will collapse under pressure. However, Taleb believes that there is a class of things in the world that can not only resist pressure, but also grow, strengthen and profit from unpredictable and unwelcome stimuli. Taleb sees different degrees of antifragility, from fasting, Greek mythology, planned economy, technology, culture to biological systems. "Antifragility" as defined by Taleb in the book is the characteristic of things that not only benefit from chaos and volatility, but also need such chaos and volatility to survive and prosper. "Antifragile: Profits from Uncertainty" is a book full of radical ideas that can really surprise us. There are more inspiring ideas in this book than any non-fiction book we have read. Nassim Taleb points out that the pursuit of modern epistemology is itself very questionable. Modern times try to predict the future, determine everything, and then establish an indestructible order or system to cope with all challenges. But man's plan is not as good as God's plan. Once faced with unknown challenges, it becomes very fragile and collapses. The thinking that can really ensure effective survival must be "anti-fragile", able to benefit from constant setbacks, able to deal with uncertainty uncertainly, that is, to survive like life rather than like a machine. Taleb's anti-fragile thinking is almost a contemporary echo of Lao Tzu's methodology of walking like water. In an era full of variables, this kind of thinking should be more effective. Taleb likes to ridicule the target groups: scholars, economists, tourists and the like. Some readers who read this book may think that Taleb is too self-righteous and put the book aside; some readers will think that the views in the book are full of charm, so they can't put it down and read it. But in any case, no one who finishes reading this book will be indifferent.

Nietzsche once said, "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger." Just as human bones become stronger under weight and pressure, and rumors and riots become more intense under containment and suppression, many things in our lives benefit from pressure, chaos, volatility and turmoil. "Antifragility" as defined by Taleb in the book "Antifragile" is the characteristic of things that not only benefit from chaos and volatility, but also need such chaos and volatility to survive and prosper. In "The Black Swan", Taleb reveals to us how rare and unpredictable events lurk behind everything in the world, and in "Antifragile: Profiting from Uncertainty", he strives to justify uncertainty, let us see its beneficial side, and even prove the necessity of its existence. He also suggests that we build things in an antifragile way. It is worth noting that antifragility is a concept that goes beyond resilience and toughness. Resilience is just the ability of things to withstand shocks and recover after heavy damage; while antifragility goes further than resilience, allowing things to grow against the trend and thrive under pressure. In addition, antifragility is immune to prediction errors and can also be protected from harmful events. Why are city-states better than centralized states? Why does debt put you at a disadvantage? Why does what we call "efficiency" not bring us real efficiency? Why do government actions and social policies always protect the strong and hurt the weak? Why should you write a resignation letter before starting work? Why did the sinking of the Titanic save more lives? This book covers many topics, including trial and error, decision-making in life, politics, urban planning, war, personal finance, economic systems and medicine. In addition to the street wisdom of Tony, a fat man in Brooklyn, voices and experiences from ancient Rome, ancient Greece, Semitic and the Middle Ages also run through the text like historical pearls, shining with thought-provoking wisdom. "Antifragile: Gaining from Uncertainty" is an action guide to guide us to continue to survive in the world of black swans.

The author of the best-selling books "The Black Swan", "Asymmetric Risk" and "Fooled by Randomness". Taleb's "Uncertainty" series of books has been translated into 36 languages ​​and distributed worldwide.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb is one of the great thinkers of our time. Today's formidable risk management theorist is known as having "rare courage and erudition". Taleb has devoted his life to studying the problems of uncertainty, probability and knowledge. He has written 50 academic papers to explore "uncertainty", covering international relations, risk management, and statistical physics. His main research topic is "decision-making in an opaque environment", which provides guidelines or principles for how we live in a world we do not understand.

Before becoming a full-time writer and academic researcher, Taleb worked as a businessman and trader for 20 years. He is currently employed as a distinguished professor of risk engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University.