Nassim Taleb’s book “Antifragile” is one of the most sincere and straight to the point books you will ever read.

Something that’s Antifragile actually becomes stronger when it’s damaged, like the mythical Hydra growing two heads when one is cut off. That which doesnt kill you makes you stronger.

Antifragile is the writer’s 4th book out of his 5 book series Incerto. This books explores how we can leverage Antifragility to make the world’s uncertainty work in our favor. He provides examples of both fragile and antifragile systems ranging from the historical to the modern, and in areas ranging from politics and economics to the human body. The verdict is clear: Antifragility is necessary if we are to thrive.

I have curated the most important and deep parts of this book into the following quotes:

• You don’t know yourself unless you have to make your own choices.
• We don’t understand things when we have an edge. Only when we have the perspective of coming from behind.
• If we win during bear markets you’ll be fine on bull markets.
• Dispersion of outcomes is better than having everyone like you or your ideas.
• The more energy you put into trying to control your ideas and what you think about, the more your ideas end up controlling you.
• And suddenly it is when you don't care about your reputation that you have one.
• Much of aging comes from a misunderstanding of the effect of comfort. A disease of civilization.
• When you are fragile, you depend on things following the exact planned course, with as little deviation as possible- for deviations are more harmful than helpful.
• Every plane crash brings us closer to safety, improves the system and makes the next flight safer. Plane crashes are isolated and easier to exploit small errors- as opposed to the economy which is highly intertwined, where errors spread and compound.
• A loser (lack of a better term?) does not introspect, doesn’t exploit. He/She feels defensive and embarrassed, instead of learning and moving on bigger than before. Hey No blaming here!
• What does not kill you makes you stronger if you learn from it. It did killed others, making the population stronger by sparing the weak ones.
• Entrepreneurs are risky and heroic, necessary for growth or mere survival.