Nassim Taleb argues that an antifragile whole is best composed of fragile parts.
I knew and applied this concept implicitly before Nassim stated it explicitly. At any given time, I have many separate research projects. Each one of those individual projects seeks to answer a specific scientific question. The questions are so specific the projects become fragile. A small deviation (e.g., conceptual flaw, lost data, or a misinterpretation by a reviewer) leads to the "death" of a project.
However, the death of a single project strengthens the others. Through a rigorous post-mortem process, I find what does not work and apply that knowledge to the rest. A plethora of micro-failures, though painful at the time, creates an antifragile career.
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