But in Antifragile, Taleb goes beyond this “square peg in a round hole” argument to a larger critique of “soccer moms” (both figurative and literal) who naively attempt to make the world safer by “sucking randomness out to the last drop.” Doing this provides the illusion of safety while actually making us less resilient and more fragile. In other words, not only are scraped knees and bruises ok, they are an essential part of growth.

Many readers misunderstand Taleb’s core message. They assume that because Taleb writes about unseen and improperly calculated risks, his objective must be to reduce or eliminate risk. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If anything, Antifragile is a celebration of risk and randomness and a call to arms to recognize and embrace antifragility. Rather than reduce risk, organize your life, your business or your society in such a way that it benefits from randomness and the occasional Black Swan event.

via Nassim Taleb’s ‘Antifragile’ Celebrates Randomness In People, Markets – Forbes.