Security vs Freedom

Security and freedom, these two desirables seem to live on a sliding scale.

If you choose security, like a decent paying job in a large corporate you’ll only get a couple of days (15?) of leave a year (I’ve been told that ‘leave’ is something that you get from somewhere and then you take it by putting it in somewhere else, it’s all really confusing.) or you can be part of the gig economy and have multiple streams of income and live as a digital nomad, but that doesn’t seem secure and there is no maternity leave and no office cupcakes.

The catch is that ‘security’ itself is an illusion, as my friend Bronwyn Williams reminded me today, much like the lifejackets on aircraft. The salaried man is only one ever ‘restructuring’ away from his world collapsing, especially if you’re in a ‘bs’ job like statistical analysis and data reconfiguration*.

Nassim Taleb writes in his book Anti Fragile, that the cab driver living fare by fare and having to be creative and think on his feet is far more immune to chaos and open to happenstance opportunity than the office clerk ever could be.

Illusions are comforting though…

pierre

*If you know this reference, we’ll be friends forever. ;)