????塔勒布還指出社會各個層面存在脆弱性的例子。過度保護的父母不讓孩子面對逆境，以及能促其成熟的各類困境。醫(yī)生更樂意給病患開抗抑郁藥百憂解（Prozac）：十分之一的美國人靠抗抑郁藥度日。塔勒布認為，應(yīng)該讓我們的情緒按照自然規(guī)律波動。

????“如果百憂解早一個世紀問世，”塔勒布寫道?！安ǖ氯R爾的怨氣，埃德加·愛倫·坡的情緒，西爾維婭·普拉斯的詩歌，還有其他詩人的不朽詞句，所有擁有靈魂的事物，都將被湮滅于雛形中?！?/p>

????有證據(jù)證明，小失誤能帶來更好的未來?？茖W(xué)領(lǐng)域里有所謂毒性興奮效應(yīng)（hormesis）的說法，即一定劑量的有害物質(zhì)能夠讓有機體更加強壯、更加健康，并能承受更大劑量的有害物質(zhì)。塔勒布借助毒性興奮效應(yīng)來解釋歷史潮流，探尋如泰坦尼克號此類悲劇的作用。他強調(diào)，如果泰坦尼克號沒有沉入大西洋海底，那么人們無疑會去建造更大的遠洋客船，直到最終發(fā)生沉船，更多生命凋零。

????眼前，日本福島核泄漏災(zāi)難凸顯出核反應(yīng)堆的脆弱性，有助防止未來災(zāi)難的發(fā)生。塔勒布將這類不可預(yù)測的事件稱為“黑天鵝”。他認為，我們應(yīng)該為那些無法預(yù)測的事件做好準備，這就是我們要反脆弱性的原因所在。

????暢銷書《隨機致富的傻瓜》（Fooled by Randomness）和《黑天鵝》（The Black Swan）之后，塔勒布閉關(guān)1,100天寫出續(xù)作，凝練出“反脆弱性”這個主題。鮮為人知的是，塔勒布是一位非?；淖骷摇Ｋ麚碛忻翡J的“鼻子”，會嗅遍全書，挑出那些廣為接受的有毒理念，例如股票期權(quán)。由于股票期權(quán)對于接受它的公司主管來說毫無缺陷，所以反倒十分危險。

????《反脆弱性》一書與其以前作品不同之處在于，塔勒布還給尋常百姓開了一劑良藥。我們?nèi)绾巫屔罡鼒詮?？面對毀滅性打擊，如何過得怡然自得？他建議，從易處入手，不再亂求醫(yī)。為什么？因為醫(yī)生們會不停地給你開藥。除非真正生病，一些針對如高血壓、高血脂癥狀的治療會帶來不可預(yù)期的副作用【想想抗關(guān)節(jié)炎藥萬絡(luò)（Vioxx）的副作用吧】。

????工作中，遵循機體節(jié)律，保持少量壓力。碰了壁，爬起來走開。如果懂得進退，為什么還要學(xué)日本人那樣超時低能工作呢？

????從這點來看，何必執(zhí)著于所謂的舒適與祥和？我們需要過苦日子來珍視好日子，需要蔬菜來襯托牛排的美味，需要勒緊褲腰帶為將來的好日子做準備?？偠灾悍创嗳跣圆⒉痪窒拊诮?jīng)濟和政治理論方面，它更是通往美好生活的一把鑰匙。

????譯者：郭延航

????Taleb finds baneful examples of fragility in many corners of society. Overprotective parents shield their children from adversity, but also from hardships that help them mature. Doctors prescribe Prozac far too readily: One in 10 Americans is on an antidepressant. Far better, he asserts, to let our moods swing the way they naturally do.

????"Had Prozac been available last century," Taleb writes, "Baudelaire's spleen, Edgar Allan Poe's moods, the poetry of Sylvia Plath, the lamentations of so many other poets, everything with a soul would have been silenced."

????There's proof that small mistakes can foster better futures. In science it's called hormesis, the concept that limited doses of a harmful substance tend to make organisms stronger, healthier, and prepared for a bigger dose next time. Taleb invokes hormesis to explain historical trends, citing tragedies such as the Titanic disaster. Had the Titanic not sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic, he argues, we would have no doubt built bigger and bigger ocean liners until even more people perished in a crash.

????More recently, the Fukushima nuclear disaster highlighted nuclear reactor vulnerabilities, which should help prevent future catastrophes. Such events are unpredictable, which is why Taleb calls them Black Swans. His point is we need to be prepared for what we can't predict, which is why we need to become antifragile.

????Taleb apparently concocted the term "antifragility" during the 1,100 days he spent in seclusion writing the new book, a follow-up to his previous bestsellers?Fooled by Randomness?and?The Black Swan.?What sometimes goes unsaid about Taleb is that he's a very funny writer. Taleb has a finely tuned BS detector, which he wields throughout the book to debunk pervasive yet pernicious ideas like stock options, which are so dangerous because they have no downside for the executives who receive them.

????What makes?Antifragile?distinct from his previous books are Taleb's prescriptions for regular people. How do you make your life more antifragile? How do you live a fulfilling, enjoyable life immune to ruin? Start simple, he advises, and cut out visits to the doctor. Why? Because doctors are incented to prescribe, prescribe, prescribe. Unless you're truly sick, medicating everything from high blood pressure to high cholesterol tends to produce unintended side effects (think of the Vioxx effect).

????At work, follow your body's rhythms and introduce small stressors. Get up and take a walk when you hit a wall. Why work long, low-energy hours like the Japanese when starting and stopping is far more efficient?

????For that matter, why strive for bland, cosseted consistency? We need bad days to appreciate the good, vegetables to enjoy steak, and financial hardship to prepare us for good times. The takeaway: Antifragility isn't just sound economic and political doctrine. It's also the key to a good life.