Climate Antifragility
Only once we’ve given up on the belief that we must succeed can we truly hope that we succeed after all.
antifragile
The world in straight lines: Why we are not ready for discontinuities
There is no way to know how long the wrenching changes we are experiencing will go on or how our arrangements for commerce, governance and social life will change. What is missing and has been missing is a map our fragilities. The pandemic revealed those fragilities for all to see; but they were not invisible. A belief in the invincibility of our global systems obscured them.
Living in a world we can’t understand
Only when we accept that we have a rather limited understanding of the world we live in are we able to act in ways that are prudent for ourselves and our communities and respectful of the Earth and of our fellow beings, human and otherwise.
The U.S. energy independence story: Will anyone be punished if it turns out to be wrong?
Why you should never take advice from people who have no "skin in the game."
The single most important principle for sustainability
The non-natural needs to prove its benefits, not the natural. This principle is the clearest expression of the precautionary principle I’ve ever seen, and it is even more stringent.
Is “antifragile” better than “resilient”?
"Antifragile" is a word you can’t find in the dictionary. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author and student of probability and risk, coined the word because, after looking at languages across the world, he could not find a word which describes the ability to improve with stress rather than merely resist it as the word "resilient" implies.
What happens when we shock a system?
Have you ever noticed that some things in the world like to be disrupted? Rogue militant groups set out to garner counter-attacks that distract their opponents while draining their resources. Viruses encourage multi-cellular organisms to activate their immune systems in attempts to wipe them out. Teenagers seek the disdain – and occasional wrath – of authority figures in their lives.