#### A friend of mine, @ngtnsm, once brought up the word 'Anti-fragility' during one of our discussions. To explain what it means, my friend used the example of a porcelain cup. If we would drop the cup, it would break. How could we prevent it from breaking when it would hit the floor? Most people would say that we should harden the cup. Hardening it creates 'Resilience'. But what if, instead of hardening the cup, we would change its structure in such a way that it would grow whenever it would fall? That is 'Anti-fragility'.  
####

The philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb writes in his book, *Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder*, that 'Anti-fragility' is an essential quality for businesses, governments, and even individuals to thrive and succeed in our complex and volatile world. By way of illustration, we could look at three myths that symbolize 'Fragility', 'Resilience', and 'Anti-fragility'. The first, is the myth of the sword of Damocles. The second myth is the Phoenix symbolizing resilience, and the third one is the myth of the Hydra.

https://chhaylin.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/fragile-vs-resilient-vs-antifragile.jpg?w=474

#### Myth 1: Sword of Damocles ####
The fragile are 
> [T]he large, optimized, overreliant on technology, overreliant on the so-called scientific method instead of age-tested heuristics.

They break easily from the slightest disturbances, and therefore try to avoid pains and losses at any cost. Damocles was a courtier of King Dionysus II who was put on the throne so that he could experience kingship. Soon after, Dionysus hung a sword over Damocles' head, carried by a thin horse hair. The hair could snap any moment and kill him instantly. Being king suddenly didn't seem so great anymore.

People who are fragile are in need of a stable environment. When situations change, they break down. The sword in people's daily lives could be the burden of debt or other financial problems.

#### Myth 2: The Phoenix ####
The mythical Phoenix is a bird that is cyclically reborn. It dies in flames, and decomposes until it is born again. The phoenix does not change in its cycle of death and rebirth - it doesn't get better or worse. It just stays the same. Hence, it is resilient.

Resilient people are collected during periods of stress. They have little drive to stir up the status quo, and prefer things as they are. They are not concerned about complexity, don't dare to take risks, and will not find opportunities to grow from disorder and adversity.

#### Myth 3: The Hydra ####
The Hydra (of Lerna) was a water monster with many serpentine heads. Its breath was poisonous and its blood was so virulent that its scent was deadly. Each time Heracles cut off one head, the Hydra would regrow a couple more. It would hence grow from adversity and be difficult to destroy.

People who are 'Anti-fragile' can easily adopt to disorder and situational changes. They see opportunity in change and pain, and live accordingly to bear the fruit of opportunities.

https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrinknp_400_400/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAjaAAAAJGViZTIxOGQyLWE4MDctNGUyYS05Nzg2LWIzODZjZDg2YWY4NA.jpg

#### 'Anti-fragility', Heraclitus and Nietzsche ####
I see parallels between the concept of 'Anti-fragility' and the philosophies of the pre-Socratic Heraclitus and Friedrich Nietzsche.

Heraclitus once said:
> War is the father and king of all.

Everything that exists, both the good and bad in our lives, comes from constant war and destruction of something. Nietzsche has accused philosophers that they have equalized 'good' and 'morality' to the absence of pain and misery. In *The Gay Science*, he writes that only great pains can lead to the ultimate emancipation of the spirit. It is from sickness, self-doubt and other torments that we become stronger and develop a refined taste for joyfulness. Negative emotions and bad experiences are therefore useful as long as they build up our 'Anti-fragility'. Hence, Nietzsche's famous statement that
> What does not kill me, only makes me stronger.

His ideal human being, the Übermensch, is sensitive to life and has developed life-affirming qualities. Due to his sensitivity to life, he is able to break and rebuild himself through a process which Nietzsche called 'self-overcoming'.

#### Are Cambodians 'Anti-fragile'? ####
If I look at Cambodian people, I don't think they are. Although they are in a situation in which they have had excellent opportunities to build up 'Anti-fragility' through the adversities they faced during the war times. 

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/31/ce/83/31ce83ee52971deba9dd238b56970a07.jpg
Children working in the fields during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1978).

http://i2.cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140807001955-cambodia-tree-beating-children-horizontal-large-gallery.jpg
A tree against which executioners beat children to death. This would save bullets.

http://i.imgur.com/qLS1uY9.jpg
A killing field in Cambodia.

I once read a research paper which says that at the end of the 1990s, approximately 60% of Cambodian adult refugees were still suffering from PTSD and approximately 50% were suffering from depression. 40% of the children whose both parents suffered from PTSD also suffer from PTSD in their youth. If one of the parents suffered from PTSD, then approximately 25% of the Cambodian children would have PTSD as well. These numbers are shocking, but not surprising to me.

If  a community would like to build 'Anti-fragility', it should cope with pains. It means that we should not flee in drugs, alcohol, and gambling. We should not flee in the collective, not in national pride, not in the adoration of the Khmer empire, not in our old norms and values, but we should focus on the present and strengthen ourselves as individuals. We should not find ourselves in self-pity. We should beware of misinterpretation of karma and stop thinking, like many elderly are still doing, that our miserable lives are the consequences of our bad behavior in previous lives.

Are Cambodians 'Anti-fragile'? I don't think so. We have a culture of self-pity, envy, and accusation. We find pride in such useless things as old culture and nationalism. I hate to say it, but our culture is sick. The only means through which we could improve our culture is to criticize it and to engage in critical dialogue which is almost non-existent in our community.

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