Newminimalist have reset their lives so they can become "non-fragile".
The notion of being "non-fragile" was created by Nassim Nicholas Taleb because he was fascinated by the impact of "fragile systems" on us all. He noted that the opposite to being fragile was not being robust as one might tend to think. So he invented the notion of being "non-fragile" as a way of explaining to us that a major crisis [due to a Black Swan or White Swan event] can crush us unless, or until, we overcome our built-in "fragility".
Three years ago I was writing my sci-fi novel 'The Sixth Dimension' in which my underlying thesis was that we are fragile due to the group think , and sameness, of collectives. These collectives have formed a global elite which insists that we think, and act, in ways that save their fragile system from imploding. As their system comes under more and more stress due to unexpected or unpredicted events [flu pandemics and economic shocks] they tighten their controls on national and global populations. In effect they need us all to be the same. And it was the impact of obvious "sameness" around the world that made me realise that we must find our own [individual] ways to become non-fragile in the face of this meme-based social fragility.
Newminimalism takes the focus off the collective and, instead, places it squarely on the individual. This is achieved by focusing on needs not wants. The strange truth here is that needs met make one non-fragile because some of them can only be accomplished if one avoids being drawn into the group think that sustains those who fight hard to protect their fragile system.
Bringing this all back to the events of the modern world on 23rd March 2020. The fragile system built by our collective elites has proven to be unable to cope with the combination of a viral pandemic and a global overhang of debt. This fragile system has not been able to manage the impact of global fear that "potentially" masses of people could die. They responded in two predictable ways which lay bare their incompetence and inhumanity. First and foremost, they rationed healthcare. Second they issued unprecedented amounts of global debt that was directed to their favoured institutions and not to the people with the greatest need.
In a sense, we discovered this year that the global system run by the current collective elite is a big black box. The people who own, and run, this black box control the inputs to it. And because it is truly a complex black box the outputs they get are sometimes predictable and sometimes random. When the outputs are random the collective elites change the inputs in with the hope that they can generate the outputs they most desire. If they get predictable outputs they can sustain a set of humans who can survive and even thrive. Thus we end up with "global sameness" and it becomes this feature of our world that glosses over the fact that the whole thing is fragile. But the moment the outputs of this big black box are random then our world sinks like the Titanic because the consumers' think, behave, and believe the same things. And the combination of the current viral pandemic and the impact of global debt has led us to "social distancing" and "economic shutdowns". Thus we have a complex system [the big black box] that is currently delivering a highly random set of outputs to which we are responding with a totally inadequate set of strategies and tactics. And so we become the most fragile elements in a complex system that is unpredictable to us all. Perhaps this is the prime reason we must become non-fragile elements inside this complex system if we are to survive and thrive.
Tesla cars are non-fragile because they are constantly being updated with new software that runs the systems within the vehicle. This means that owners often report that their 3 year old car is far better than it was on the day of purchased. Most cars are fragile and they become more and more so as they age. Newminimalists are more like the Tesla car in that they are continually updating their needs, habits, and beliefs; and, in the process they become more and more non-fragile.
Richard
Let's discuss this if you like. Simply go to minimal-you.com and engage me by direct chat or email.
Comments