Antifragility in Covid-19 time
How from a big tragedy can arise the hope of living by the sea
What is the opposite of fragile? Few months ago I would have said ‘strong, resistant, resilient’ but recently I have learnt that the opposite of fragile is antifragile. In the book ‘Antifragile’ Nassim Nicholas Taleb explain how fragile is everything that has disadvantages from randomness. At the opposite antifragile thrives and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness and disorder.
We can consider a triade: fragile — robust — antifragile.
Let me use an example to clarify: a crystal vase can not have any advantages from randomness such as a fall. It is for sure fragile. At the opposite, an iron vase is robust: if it fall down will not be broken but it will not become better either. None of the two vases are antifragile because none of them will gain anything from falling on the floor.
This concept can not be used to describe a physical object (maybe this is the reason why, apparently, there is no words to define it in any language).
Antifragility is behind everything that is alive and has changed with time. It define what is living, organic and complex opposed to what is inert such as a vase.
During the traumatic Covid-19 time we could see clearly the antifragility effectiveness.
Many people managed to use their spare time in a constructive way. Someone started studying or reading on a new subject, someone spent quality time with the family, someone else learned how to make pizza. Maybe in future we will be able to show off in front of his friends our new cooking abilities.
Maybe these are not life changes abilities but we are now able to do something new that before we could not. We gain something from a random and unpredictable situation. This is the proof: we are antifragile.
Bigger changes occurred at a macroscopic level. Think about the home working for example. With this tragedy many people realised that some kind of flexible work is possible and also positive. Many companies are thinking to implement and encourage it.
Without this unexpected situation probably we would have needed years to be where we are now and maybe we would have not achieved that in this proportion.
We have the chance to rethink our working model. In future maybe many will go in the office just once or twice per week (or per month). This can bring a series of unimaginable benefits, unthinkable just few months ago. Think about the advantages of living in a small town near the sea going on working in a company in a big city.
The housing pressure in big cities could decrease (such as in San Francisco area), prices could go down and we could have enormous advantages on the environment and our health. Less pollution, more time for the family, the hobbies, the wellness.
We could also avoid depopulation in areas which are too far away from metropolitan areas but with great life quality.
Covid-19 was a tragedy but made us stronger. It gave us the knowledge to avoid the same mistakes in future. Taleb, in his book, talks about the Titanic paradox: if that famous accident had not occurred, people would have kept building larger and larger ocean liners and the next disaster would have been even bigger. So the people who died were sacrificed for the greater good, they unarguably saved more lives than were lost.
Next time a pandemic will occur we will be more prepared and maybe also our society would be shaped to avoid massive losses.
We can not evolve without the disorder and randomness. I like to think that all of us, who survived this tragedy, are stronger as an individual but also as a community. And this is all thanks to a something some weeks ago I did not know that even existed.