49. Finding Failure Boundaries

Imagine you have a toy car race track and are figuring out the best way to make your toy car go as fast as possible around the track. You try different things, like changing the wheels or making the track smoother, to see what makes the car go faster. Think about the same toy car track but now you are figuring out the very edge of what the car can handle before it crashes or stops working well. It’s like finding out how fast you can make the car go before it flies off the track. You want to know the most you can push the car without it failing. So, you test different speeds and track conditions to see when it’s just about to crash but doesn’t. This way, you understand the limits and can avoid making mistakes that cause crashes.

A master not only knows how to maximize one’s strengths but also what one’s limits are.

I can tell you the license plate numbers of all six cars outside. I can tell you that our waitress is left-handed and the guy sitting up at the counter weighs two hundred fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself. I know the best place to look for a gun is the cab or the gray truck outside, and at this altitude, I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking. Now why would I know that? How can I know that and not know who I am?
- Jason Bourne, The Bourne Identity

Most people focus on optimization, finding the best way to succeed, whereas anti-optimization helps you understand the limits to avoid failure.