Become Anti-Fragile or Die

"Become anti-fragile or die."

I wrote this down on a scrap of paper. I have scraps of paper all over the house. Because I am a writer.

I thought it was a quote from Billions. I went online to confirm that, and lo and fucking behold there are 250,000 reference points for the term "anti-fragile."

Because our society is cold-hearted, vicious and soul-suffocating.

Sensitivity is not something to be revered, it is something to be thwarted, disguised, reviled and combatted.

I found an article titled "10 Principles to Live an Antifragile Life". Good advice, bad advice.

The one book that pops up over and over again is: "Things That Gain From Disorder", by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. This is actually where the quote came from in Billions.

As I looked in to this, a lot of the advice was practical. An attempt to establish guidelines to protect yourself from being crushed by life.

Of course this was not how the quote was used in Billions. Nor do I believe that the majority of people who come across or quote these words are sensitive people.

"Become anti-fragile or die" is another version of "suck it up." Mindless, soul-less pablum designed to ignore human nature and celebrate cruelty. Usually espoused by poseurs.

My favorite response to the "suck it up" bullshit (stolen from someone else) is: "When I feel down and someone tells me to suck it up, I get the urge to break their legs with a baseball bat and then say "Walk it off."

To celebrate sensitivity is to celebrate humanity.

Mocking it is murder.

Or suicide. Depending on your perspective.