Just started digging into Nassim Taleb’s new book titled:
The Antifragile – Things That Gain From Disorder
Taleb makes fascinating points about today’s over-protective culture and its growing inability to deal with randomness and challenges the world will inevitably bring…
We do everything in our power to try to control all situations, but the ironic thing is, that’s when shit almost always blows up in our face…
One analogy that Taleb uses is vaccines. When we use vaccines, we actually inject small doses of the disease into our body which allows the body’s immune system to properly function and fight off whatever it needs to continue to survive and thrive. In theory, we willingly teach our bodies to take on infantry units in order to prevent the enemy from ever getting close enough to be able to drop the nuke. 🚀
It’s kinda like my kids playing outside on the playground monkey bars then going to get ice cream afterwards without washing their hands… Of course, the Rocky Road melts off the sugar cone onto their grotesque hands… Logically, the kids stick their hands in their mouth to make sure they don’t miss out on the beautiful ice cream/play ground germ infested blend…
Is this good for them or us in the short term?
Not really.
They bring home entire germ colonies that have a tendency to make abbreviated sick stays with multiple members of the family…
Yet, in the long term, the little rug rats are in the process of building SOLID immune system armies that have the increasing ability to fight off whatever attack comes their way in the future…
To the extreme contrary is our dude Bubble Boy…
We all know him and it’s not his fault; it’s his parents.
They are the ones who travel around with a fanny pack full of anti bacterial gels and wipes. When somebody sneezes in the same room, full panic mode sets in and the kid is rushed out like some sort of toxic gas was just released. Heaven forbid Bubble Boy and his fam ever shake anybody’s hand, as a matter of fact, they created the fist bump generation and I’m pretty sure Bubble Boy has no idea what the f*ck a handshake even is… Inevitably, because of Bubble Boy’s overprotective and over FRAGILE immune system, he gets sick ALL THE TIME.
Look, I’m not suggesting we all go out and tongue clean the nearest trash can or subway handrail, but I am saying that sometimes in life we need to take two steps back to be able to take three steps forward. We need to be able to experience the necessary setbacks that ultimately make us stronger and lead to growth…
Bottom line: Let’s FREE BUBBLE BOY. 😷
-EB