The document discusses the concept of "fragile students" in Confucian heritage cultures where there is intense academic pressure to achieve straight A's. This creates long-term stress and mental health issues for many students. It contrasts this with the idea of "anti-fragile students" who are able to thrive under uncertainty and variability. The key aspects that make students anti-fragile are having optionality in subjects, a strength-based focus to promote convex learning curves, and an embrace of disorder and variability that makes learning a joy rather than a duty.
6. Confucian Heritage Culture
• Academic excellence is a matter of social status and
identity
• Relentless parental, educational and peer pressure to
excel academically and become a “straight-A” student
• Consequence? Long-term stress for almost all students,
leading to depression, drug abuse (and suicidal
tendencies) for some
9. The Fragile Student
• Pressured to excel in all areas of academia (or as many areas as
possible) due to social competitiveness and demand for status
[NON-OPTIONALITY]
• Works extremely hard to make only marginal improvement
(especially in ‘weaker’ subjects) [CONCAVITY]
• Learning is a duty, fear-driven and thus superficial [HATES
VARIABILITY]
• Lives with constant fear of failure to succeed or meet expectations
[HEAVY DOWNSIDE, LOW UPSIDE]
10. “The fragile wants tranquility,
the anti-fragile grows from
disorder.”
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
11. Fragile
(hates disorder)
• Ponzi schemes, night markets
• Master-Apprentice r’ship
• Rock stars, Artists
• Desire, Obsession
• Planet Earth
• Financial systems, banks
• Over-protective parents
• VIPs’, Politicians
• Morality, Propaganda
• Most things man-made
Anti-Fragile
(thrives on ‘shocks’)
20. “There were compulsory subjects like Afrikaans, and I
just didn’t see the point of learning that. It seemed
ridiculous. I’d get a passing grade and that was fine.
(But) Things like physics and computers—I got the
highest grade you can get in those.
There needs to be a reason for a grade.
I’d rather play video games, write software, and read
books than try and get an A if there’s no point in
getting an A.” (Elon Musk in Vance, 2015)
21. The barbell strategy is about juxtaposing a
highly conservative strategy with a risk-
loving ‘entrepreneurial’ one.
The first minimizes the downside, the
second maximises the upside.
22. Excel in only those
subjects you love
Do the bare minimum for
all other subjects
26. The Anti-Fragile Student
• Possesses option to excel in only those subjects one loves (or has a
knack in); removes ‘competition’ and ‘status’ from learning
[OPTIONALITY]
• Strength-based focus ensures progress becomes ‘effortless’ and
exponential [CONVEXITY]
• Learning is a joy, a passion and more authentic [EMBRACES
‘DISORDER’ AND VARIABILITY]
• Lives with constant enthusiasm and expectation of excelling even
more [CLIPS DOWNSIDE, ALL UPSIDE]
29. Selected References
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Jimerson, S. R., Sharkey, J. D., Nyborg, V., & Furlong, M. J. (2004). Strength-Based Assessment and School Psychology: A Summary and
Synthesis. The California School Psychologist, 9, 9–19.
Landes, X., Marchman, M., & Nielsen, M. (2012). The Academic Rat Race: Dilemmas and Problems in the Structure of Academic
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Polowy, B. (2016). Teaching and Learning from an Anti-Fragile Perspective. Taboo, 15(1).
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407.
Vance, A. (2015). Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. New York: Ecco Press.
Weller, M., & Anderson, T. (2013). Digital Resilience in Higher Education. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning, 16(1), 53–
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528.