Aus der Kriegsschule des Lebens

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Aus der Kriegsschule des Lebens: Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker.

—Friedrich Nietzsche, Götzen-Dämmerung

From the military school of life: that which does not kill me, makes me stronger.

Yes, yes, knock yourselves without witty rejoinders about metal fatigue and polio, but Nietzsche’s aphorism articulates the fundamentally anti-fragile nature of the human being — and where it doesn’t apply neatly to individuals, it tends to apply to the species.

And consider the converse, neurotic coronavirus obsessives: Avoiding things that might hurt, but won’t kill me, makes me weaker.

See also

• Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder