You probably remember how it went when you were a kid. If your family was typical, your mother said "don't fight," but your father said "don't lose." And that was the end of it.

With all due respect to Mom and Dad, this simplistic advice is little help in a hyper-complex world that's teetering on the edge of social and ecological collapse. Conflict is inevitable, but rarely do we teach it in any intentional way.

But a sense of martial artistry is essential to our survival. Gripped by confusion, fear and outrage, we feel the need to act, but we don't even know the fundamentals: what to fight, who to fight, when to fight, how to fight, or why to fight. Awkward and impulsive, we're ineffective and even worse, a threat to ourselves and others.

The Enemy is Never Wrong is a book about radical realism and adaptability. It's about understanding the world, thinking clearly, navigating complexity and exercising skill in the face of escalating stress and ambiguity. If you're a human animal with an interest in creating a functional world, this book is for you.