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Freakonomics #1
肖褉褨泻芯薪芯屑褨泻邪. 袟胁芯褉芯褌薪懈泄 斜褨泻 褍褋褜芯谐芯 薪邪 褋胁褨褌褨
些芯 薪械斜械蟹锌械褔薪褨褕械: 胁芯谐薪械锌邪谢褜薪邪 蟹斜褉芯褟 褔懈 斜邪褋械泄薪 些芯 褋锌褨谢褜薪芯谐芯 屑褨卸 袣褍-泻谢褍泻褋-泻谢邪薪芯屑 褨 褉褨械谢褌芯褉邪屑懈 些芯 褉芯斜懈褌褜 斜邪褌褜泻褨胁 褨写械邪谢褜薪懈屑懈 袙褨写锌芯胁褨写褨 薪邪 褑褨 褌邪 褨薪褕褨 薪械褋锌芯写褨胁邪薪褨 蟹邪锌懈褌邪薪薪褟 写邪褞褌褜 褍 褋胁芯褩泄 泻薪懈卸褑褨 芦肖褉褨泻芯薪芯屑褨泻邪禄 邪屑械褉懈泻邪薪褋褜泻懈泄 械泻芯薪芯屑褨褋褌 小褌褨胁械薪 袥械胁褨褌褌 褨 卸褍褉薪邪谢褨褋褌 小褌褨胁械薪 袛邪斜薪械褉. 袩褉芯褌械 褑械 薪械 锌褉芯褋褌芯 蟹邪褏芯锌谢懈胁褨 泄 芯褉懈谐褨薪邪谢褜薪褨 锌芯褟褋薪械薪薪褟. 笑械 褋械褉泄芯蟹薪懈泄 械泻芯薪芯屑褨褔薪懈泄 邪薪邪谢褨蟹 褨蟹 屑邪褋褕褌邪斜薪懈屑懈 褋褌邪褌懈褋褌懈褔薪懈屑懈 写邪薪懈屑懈, 褟泻褨 邪胁褌芯褉懈 蟹斜懈褉邪谢懈 锌褉芯褌褟谐芯屑 斜邪谐邪褌褜芯褏 褉芯泻褨胁. 芦肖褉褨泻芯薪芯屑褨泻邪禄 写邪褦 蟹屑芯谐褍 锌芯谐谢褟薪褍褌懈 薪邪 蟹胁懈褔薪褨 褉械褔褨 锌褨写 褨薪褕懈屑 泻褍褌芯屑 蟹芯褉褍, 邪 褌邪泻芯卸 蟹褉芯蟹褍屑褨褌懈, 褖芯 屑懈 褔邪褋褌芯 锌谢褍褌邪褦屑芯 锌褉懈褔懈薪褍 泄 薪邪褋谢褨写芯泻 褨 褋褌邪褦屑芯 薪邪 褌褨 锌芯蟹懈褑褨褩, 褟泻褨 褦 写谢褟 薪邪褋 蟹褉褍褔薪懈屑懈, 邪 薪械 芯斜褦泻褌懈胁薪懈屑懈.
248 pages, Hardcover
First published April 12, 2005
17.5k people are currently reading
576k people want to read
About the author
Steven D. Levitt
27听books4,094听followersSteven David Levitt is an American economist and co-author of the best-selling book Freakonomics and its sequels (along with Stephen J. Dubner). Levitt was the winner of the 2003 John Bates Clark Medal for his work in the field of crime, and is currently the William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago as well as the Faculty Director and Co-Founder of the Center for Radical Innovation for Social Change at the University of Chicago which incubates the Data Science for Everyone coalition. He was co-editor of the Journal of Political Economy published by the University of Chicago Press until December 2007. In 2009, Levitt co-founded TGG Group, a business and philanthropy consulting company. He was chosen as one of Time magazine's "100 People Who Shape Our World" in 2006. A 2011 survey of economics professors named Levitt their fourth favorite living economist under the age of 60, after Paul Krugman, N. Gregory Mankiw and Daron Acemo臒lu.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 19,977 reviews
February 24, 2008
This was an interesting book. I say it was interesting because I started liking it (a lot) when I first read it, as time passed I liked it less and less. In that way I call it a candy book, tastes good at first but leaves you worse off for reading it.
In my opinion, there are two problems with the book: First, Stephen Dubner comes across as a sycophant. Way to much of the book is spent praising Levitt. Secondly, I was disappointed in the lack of detail provided about Livitt's hypothesis. I wanted more. It was like reading War and Peace and discovering that you read the abridged version and in fact the book wasn't 100 pages long. This disappointment may have come from my engineering background and my strong desire to really understand economics. This book didn't offer any of that, only a titillating glimpse of the economics.
In some regards one may think my single start rating is to harsh. As mind candy this book was quite good. I did enjoy reading it at the time. Whats more, it did encourage me to study real economics. I am currently enrolled in a masters program in economics and this book did play a very small roll in that decision process. However, as I learn more about economics I realize how shallow the book in fact was.
While this is not the forum for a comprehensive review of the topics presented in the book, or an analysis of how good the economics in Freekanomics are, a review in "Journal of Economic Literature (Vol XLV, Dec. 2007 pp 973)" quotes Livitt as saying: "There is no question I have written some ridiculous papers." The article then goes on to quote a paper by Noam Scheibler(2007) describing Livitt's comparing some of his papers to the fashion industry. "Sometimes you write papers and they're less about the actual result, more about your vision of how you think the profession should be. And so I think some of my most ridiculous papers actually fall in the high-fashion category."
In my opinion, there are two problems with the book: First, Stephen Dubner comes across as a sycophant. Way to much of the book is spent praising Levitt. Secondly, I was disappointed in the lack of detail provided about Livitt's hypothesis. I wanted more. It was like reading War and Peace and discovering that you read the abridged version and in fact the book wasn't 100 pages long. This disappointment may have come from my engineering background and my strong desire to really understand economics. This book didn't offer any of that, only a titillating glimpse of the economics.
In some regards one may think my single start rating is to harsh. As mind candy this book was quite good. I did enjoy reading it at the time. Whats more, it did encourage me to study real economics. I am currently enrolled in a masters program in economics and this book did play a very small roll in that decision process. However, as I learn more about economics I realize how shallow the book in fact was.
While this is not the forum for a comprehensive review of the topics presented in the book, or an analysis of how good the economics in Freekanomics are, a review in "Journal of Economic Literature (Vol XLV, Dec. 2007 pp 973)" quotes Livitt as saying: "There is no question I have written some ridiculous papers." The article then goes on to quote a paper by Noam Scheibler(2007) describing Livitt's comparing some of his papers to the fashion industry. "Sometimes you write papers and they're less about the actual result, more about your vision of how you think the profession should be. And so I think some of my most ridiculous papers actually fall in the high-fashion category."
June 26, 2022
I loved this book, though I think the title is a bit misleading. It's not really about economics. In fact, he's showing you what interesting things you can discover when you apply statistical analysis to problems where you wouldn't normally think of using it. I use statistical methods a fair amount in my own work, so I found it particularly interesting. The most startling and thought-provoking example is definitely the unexpected reduction in US urban crime that occurred towards the end of the 20th century. Crime rates had been rising for decades, and people were really worried about what would happen if the trend continued. Then, suddenly, they peaked and started to decline. Why? There were a bunch of theories, all of them superficially plausible.
Levitt crunched the numbers, to see what proportion of the variance could be ascribed to the different factors. This is a completely standard technique; it just hadn't been used here before. He came to the conclusion that the single most important factor, by far, was the ready availability of abortion that started to come in after Roe v Wade. Other things, like more resources for policing and tougher sentencing policies, probably helped, but not nearly as much. I didn't at all get the impression that he had been expecting this result from the start, and just wanted to prove his point. He processed the data, and went where the numbers led him. That's how you're supposed to do science.
The clincher, at least as far as I was concerned, was the fact that crime statistics peaked at different points in different states, the peaks correlating very well with the dates when each state started making abortion available. States that brought it in early had correspondingly early peaks in their crime rates. It's hard to see how that could happen if Levitt's explanation weren't correct.
I am surprised that there hasn't been more discussion of Levitt's findings in the political world. Maybe it's just regarded as too hot to handle. But if Levitt is right, and at the moment I would say it's up to his critics to explain why he isn't, then pro-life campaigners would seem be heading in a very unfortunate direction.
_________________________
[Update, Jun 26 2022]
In view of the Supreme Court's recent ruling, I wonder which Republican-led states have started planning for the increased levels of crime that are to be expected fifteen to twenty years from now, and which ones have decided it won't be necessary. In the second case, it would be interesting to know why not. A couple of suggestions to get the ball rolling:
a) this is liberal science and can be discounted as political messaging,
b) the Rapture will occur first.
Levitt crunched the numbers, to see what proportion of the variance could be ascribed to the different factors. This is a completely standard technique; it just hadn't been used here before. He came to the conclusion that the single most important factor, by far, was the ready availability of abortion that started to come in after Roe v Wade. Other things, like more resources for policing and tougher sentencing policies, probably helped, but not nearly as much. I didn't at all get the impression that he had been expecting this result from the start, and just wanted to prove his point. He processed the data, and went where the numbers led him. That's how you're supposed to do science.
The clincher, at least as far as I was concerned, was the fact that crime statistics peaked at different points in different states, the peaks correlating very well with the dates when each state started making abortion available. States that brought it in early had correspondingly early peaks in their crime rates. It's hard to see how that could happen if Levitt's explanation weren't correct.
I am surprised that there hasn't been more discussion of Levitt's findings in the political world. Maybe it's just regarded as too hot to handle. But if Levitt is right, and at the moment I would say it's up to his critics to explain why he isn't, then pro-life campaigners would seem be heading in a very unfortunate direction.
_________________________
[Update, Jun 26 2022]
In view of the Supreme Court's recent ruling, I wonder which Republican-led states have started planning for the increased levels of crime that are to be expected fifteen to twenty years from now, and which ones have decided it won't be necessary. In the second case, it would be interesting to know why not. A couple of suggestions to get the ball rolling:
a) this is liberal science and can be discounted as political messaging,
b) the Rapture will occur first.
July 9, 2007
Sure, this book was a compelling read that offered us all some great amo for cocktail party conversation. But ultimately I think most of what Leavitt claims is crap.
He dodges accoutability with the disclaimer about his book NOT being a scholarly work, but then goes on to drop statistics, theories and expert opinions. These assertions laid, he doesn't provide readers with enough information to critically examine his perspectives.
Ultimately I have a problem with the unquestioned, unaccoutable role of the public intellectual. Leavitt dances around with his PhD on his sleeve, but is never subject to peer review or any sort of academic criticism. I think it's irresponsible.
He dodges accoutability with the disclaimer about his book NOT being a scholarly work, but then goes on to drop statistics, theories and expert opinions. These assertions laid, he doesn't provide readers with enough information to critically examine his perspectives.
Ultimately I have a problem with the unquestioned, unaccoutable role of the public intellectual. Leavitt dances around with his PhD on his sleeve, but is never subject to peer review or any sort of academic criticism. I think it's irresponsible.
March 20, 2016
I won't deny that this is a very interesting, compelling and thought-provoking book. Even for someone like me whose general response to economics is *snore*. And it's mainly because Freakonomics is not really about economics, but involves applying statistical analysis to many social issues and questions.
Very easy to read. Lots of shocking discoveries that seem weighted in fact - Roe v. Wade is responsible for a huge drop in crime? No wonder some people are pissed off with this book. It's really quite fascinating to look at the power of incentives - economic, social and moral - and examine cause and effect.
One of my favourite personal experiences with silly notions of cause and effect is diet soft drinks. I confess to being a bit of a coke zero addict. It's not great for you (the sodium makes you more thirsty, a lot of potassium can lead to palpitations, and a lot of phosphoric acid has been linked to kidney problems) but I've lost count of how many times people have cited statistics showing that diet soda drinkers are more likely to be overweight and diabetic. Of course they are! If you're overweight and diabetic you're more likely to drink the low-calorie, sugar-free alternatives, aren't you? So strange how people assume it is A that causes B and ignore the possibility of it being the opposite.
Anyway, my issue with this entertaining book is that I think it may be - to be frank - bullshit. Not all of it, sure. But definitely some of it. The writers state their points very confidently (some might say with a touch too much smarm) but it requires you to take a lot of what they say on faith. And some of the jumps they make between statistics and conclusion don't quite add up for me. I know many others have felt the same.
But here was the thing that really got me, the thing that made me smell bullshit: I'm fairly confident something they said is not rooted in any truth. And let's be clear: I am a total noob when it comes to most statistics and economics, so if even I can spot something a bit off, it really makes me question the rest of it. Here it is:
This, if true, implies two things. 1) Those advocating women's rights are using false data, therefore undermining their credibility, and 2) They have invented a statistic to intentionally support their cause, knowing no one will dispute it (absolutely bizarre that the author thinks no one is disputing women's rights claims, but okay...)
Well, being a feminist and someone who has spent an awful lot of time reading and writing about women's rights organizations and statistics, my eyes narrowed a little. See, in all my research, I've never seen or heard any claim that "1 in 3 women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape". I have heard the "1 in 3" statistic, but a somewhat different one.
So, obviously, I went to look it up. I spent a couple of hours going through Google and every women's rights organization page I could find, trying to uncover a single case where that statistic was used. I found exactly: none. The only other thing I found that mentioned it was a Time article attempting to debunk so-called "feminist myths":
The statistic the authors appear to have misquoted is that "1 in 3 women will experience sexual violence, or physical violence by an intimate partner", which is used often. Sexual violence here is an ambiguous term, leaving room for wider interpretations and probably explaining why, with the addition of domestic violence into the statistic, the number is at "1 in 3" instead of "1 in 8".
Furthermore, not only have the authors misrepresented the statistical claim itself, but they have also suggested that women's rights advocates have pulled the numbers from thin air to make a point - on the contrary, this is a study conducted by the World Health Organization on the "Global and regional estimates of violence against women".
I like the idea of the book, but this really put me off. Perhaps it was a one-off error that I managed to spot. Perhaps. Either way, I started to be less impressed by the facts and statistics they presented. Still, very enjoyable book for the most part.
Very easy to read. Lots of shocking discoveries that seem weighted in fact - Roe v. Wade is responsible for a huge drop in crime? No wonder some people are pissed off with this book. It's really quite fascinating to look at the power of incentives - economic, social and moral - and examine cause and effect.
One of my favourite personal experiences with silly notions of cause and effect is diet soft drinks. I confess to being a bit of a coke zero addict. It's not great for you (the sodium makes you more thirsty, a lot of potassium can lead to palpitations, and a lot of phosphoric acid has been linked to kidney problems) but I've lost count of how many times people have cited statistics showing that diet soda drinkers are more likely to be overweight and diabetic. Of course they are! If you're overweight and diabetic you're more likely to drink the low-calorie, sugar-free alternatives, aren't you? So strange how people assume it is A that causes B and ignore the possibility of it being the opposite.
Anyway, my issue with this entertaining book is that I think it may be - to be frank - bullshit. Not all of it, sure. But definitely some of it. The writers state their points very confidently (some might say with a touch too much smarm) but it requires you to take a lot of what they say on faith. And some of the jumps they make between statistics and conclusion don't quite add up for me. I know many others have felt the same.
But here was the thing that really got me, the thing that made me smell bullshit: I'm fairly confident something they said is not rooted in any truth. And let's be clear: I am a total noob when it comes to most statistics and economics, so if even I can spot something a bit off, it really makes me question the rest of it. Here it is:
Women's rights advocates, for instance, have hyped the incidence of sexual assault, claiming that one in three American women will in her lifetime be a victim of rape or attempted rape. (The actual figure is more like one in eight - but the advocates know it would take a callous person to publicly dispute their claims.)
This, if true, implies two things. 1) Those advocating women's rights are using false data, therefore undermining their credibility, and 2) They have invented a statistic to intentionally support their cause, knowing no one will dispute it (absolutely bizarre that the author thinks no one is disputing women's rights claims, but okay...)
Well, being a feminist and someone who has spent an awful lot of time reading and writing about women's rights organizations and statistics, my eyes narrowed a little. See, in all my research, I've never seen or heard any claim that "1 in 3 women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape". I have heard the "1 in 3" statistic, but a somewhat different one.
So, obviously, I went to look it up. I spent a couple of hours going through Google and every women's rights organization page I could find, trying to uncover a single case where that statistic was used. I found exactly: none. The only other thing I found that mentioned it was a Time article attempting to debunk so-called "feminist myths":
The statistic the authors appear to have misquoted is that "1 in 3 women will experience sexual violence, or physical violence by an intimate partner", which is used often. Sexual violence here is an ambiguous term, leaving room for wider interpretations and probably explaining why, with the addition of domestic violence into the statistic, the number is at "1 in 3" instead of "1 in 8".
Furthermore, not only have the authors misrepresented the statistical claim itself, but they have also suggested that women's rights advocates have pulled the numbers from thin air to make a point - on the contrary, this is a study conducted by the World Health Organization on the "Global and regional estimates of violence against women".
I like the idea of the book, but this really put me off. Perhaps it was a one-off error that I managed to spot. Perhaps. Either way, I started to be less impressed by the facts and statistics they presented. Still, very enjoyable book for the most part.
April 1, 2011
Jesus H Tittyfucking Christ on a bike! Could these two tossers be any more smarmy and self indulgent? Levitt and Dubner and probably the kind of smart arse nerds who snigger at you because you don't understand linux but sneer at you because you've actually spoken to a woman.
This book is much like the Emperor's New Clothes, people are so scared about being left out if they don't like or understand it because some sandal wearing hippy in the Guardian said it's 'This year's Das Capital' or some such bollocks that they feel compelled to join some sort of unspoken club where they all jizz themselves silly over a book that effectively is 300+ pages of pure condescension.
Only buy this book if a facist regime ever seizes control of your country and instigates a book burning policy.
This book is much like the Emperor's New Clothes, people are so scared about being left out if they don't like or understand it because some sandal wearing hippy in the Guardian said it's 'This year's Das Capital' or some such bollocks that they feel compelled to join some sort of unspoken club where they all jizz themselves silly over a book that effectively is 300+ pages of pure condescension.
Only buy this book if a facist regime ever seizes control of your country and instigates a book burning policy.
October 25, 2022
賲亘丿卅賷丕 賴賳丕賰 禺丿毓丞 賮賷 毓賳賵丕賳 丕賱賰鬲丕亘
賮丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賱賷爻 賮賷 丕賱丕賯鬲氐丕丿 賵 賱賰賳 賮賷 毓賱賲 丕賱丕噩鬲賲丕毓 賵 賱兀賳 丕賱賲丐賱賮 乇噩賱 廿賯鬲氐丕丿 賵 賱兀賳 丕賱丕賯鬲氐丕丿 賴賵 兀丨丿 賮乇賵毓 毓賱賲 丕丕賱廿噩鬲賲丕毓 賮賯丿 丕爻鬲禺丿賲 賲丕 鬲毓賱賲賴 賮賷 鬲丨賱賷賱 亘毓囟 丕賱馗賵丕賴乇 丕賱丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丞 亘兀丿賵丕鬲 廿賯鬲氐丕丿賷丞.
賲噩賲賵毓丞 賲賳 丕賱賲賵丕囟賷毓 亘毓囟賴丕 卮賷賯 噩丿丕 賵 亘毓囟賴丕 賲賲賱 兀賵 賲睾乇賯 賮賷 丕賱賲丨賱賷丞 賱丿乇噩丞 賱丕 鬲噩毓賱賳丕 賳鬲賮丕毓賱 賲毓賴.
賲丕 賴賷 丕賱兀卮賷丕亍 丕賱賲卮鬲乇賰丞 亘賷賳 賲毓賱賲賶 丕賱賲丿丕乇爻 賵 賲氐丕乇毓賶 丕賱爻賵賲賵賷亘丿賵 爻丐丕賱丕 爻丕匕噩丕 賵 賱賰賳 丕賱廿噩丕亘丞 爻賴賱丞.
賴賷 兀爻卅賱丞 賲賳 賳賵毓賷丞 賲丕 賵噩賴 丕賱卮亘賴 亘賷賳 丕賱亘胤賷禺 賵 丕賱賲賵夭 賵 鬲兀鬲賶 丕賱廿噩丕亘丞 亘兀賳 賰賱 賲賳賴賲丕 賱丕 賷氐賱丨 賰毓氐賷乇 亘乇鬲賯丕賱.
廿噩丕亘丞 丕賱爻丐丕賱 丕賱賱賵匕毓賶 賴賳丕 賴賷 兀賳 賲毓賱賲賶 丕賱賲丿丕乇爻 賵 賲氐丕乇毓賶 丕賱爻賵賲賵 賰賱 賲賳賴賲丕 賷睾卮 賮賷 丕賱賳鬲丕卅噩 賵 賱賷爻 賴匕丕 賴賵 丕賱賲賯氐賵丿 亘賱 丕賱賲賯氐賵丿 賴賵 兀賳賴 賷賲賰賳 賰卮賮 賴匕丕 丕賱睾卮 亘賳賮爻 丕賱胤乇賷賯丞 賵 賴賷 胤乇賷賯丞 丨爻丕亘賷丞 廿丨氐丕卅賷丞 胤賵乇賴丕 丕賱賲丐賱賮 賵 胤亘賯賴丕 毓賱賶 兀賲孬賱丞 亘丕賱賰鬲丕亘.
賲賳 丕賱丨賰丕賷丕鬲 丕賱胤乇賷賮丞 丨賰丕賷丞 毓賳 賲賵馗賮 賰丕賳 賷丨囟乇 賲毓賴 禺亘夭 丕賱廿賮胤丕乇 賵 亘毓囟 丕賱噩亘賳 賱賷賮胤乇 賴賵 賵 夭賲賱丕亍 丕賱毓賲賱 賰賱 賷賵賲 賵 鬲胤賵乇 丕賱賲賵囟賵毓 丨鬲賶 氐丕乇 賷丨囟乇 賲毓賴 丕賱廿賮胤丕乇 賱賰賱 丕賱卮乇賰丞 孬賲 丕爻鬲賯丕賱 賵 兀氐亘丨 丕賱賲爻卅賵賱 毓賳 鬲賵乇賷丿 丕賱禺亘夭 賱亘毓囟 賰亘乇賶 丕賱卮乇賰丕鬲 丨鬲賶 兀賳賴 賰丕賳 賷賵夭毓 丨賵丕賱賶 孬賲丕賳賷丞 丌賱丕賮 乇睾賷賮 賷賵賲賷丕.
爻丐丕賱 兀禺乇 賱賵匕毓賶:
賰賷賮 鬲鬲卮丕亘賴 噩賲毓賷丞 丕賱賰賵賰賱賵爻 賰賱丕賳 賲毓 丕賱賵爻胤丕亍 丕賱毓賯丕乇賷賷賳賵 賱賲賳 賷毓乇賮 賮廿賳 噩賲丕毓丞 丕賱賰賵賰賱賵爻 賰賱丕賳 賴賷 噩賲丕毓丞 廿乇賴丕亘賷丞 兀賲乇賷賰賷丞 賳卮兀鬲 亘毓丿 丕賱廿鬲丨丕丿 賲亘丕卮乇丞 賵 賳卮胤鬲 囟丿 丕賱兀賯賱賷丕鬲 丕賱廿爻亘丕賳賷丞 賵 丕賱爻賵丿 賵 丕賱賰丕孬賵賱賷賰 賵 兀賷 卮禺氐 睾賷乇 兀亘賷囟 兀賵乇賵亘賶 丕賱兀氐賱 亘乇賵鬲爻鬲丕賳鬲賶 賲丨丕賮馗 賵 賷丨賰賶 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 毓賳賴丕 丨賰丕賷丕鬲 卮賷賯丞 噩丿丕 噩丿賷乇丞 亘丕賱賯乇丕亍丞.
丕賱賲賴賲 兀賳 賵噩賴 丕賱卮亘賴 亘賷賳賴賲 賵 亘賷賳 丕賱賵爻胤丕亍 丕賱毓賯丕乇賷賷賳 賴賵 丕爻鬲孬賲丕乇 丕賱禺賵賮 賱丿賶 丕賱禺氐賲 賵 丕爻鬲禺丿丕賲 賲毓賱賵賲丕鬲 賱丕 鬲賲賱賰賴丕 賱廿噩亘丕乇賰 毓賱賶 丕鬲禺丕匕 乇丿 賮毓賱 賮賷 賲氐賱丨鬲賴賲 賵 賷丿賱賱 丕賱賰锟斤拷鬲亘 毓賱賶 匕賱賰 亘毓卮乇丕鬲 丕賱丨賰丕賷丕鬲 丕賱賱匕賷匕丞 噩丿丕.
爻丐丕賱 兀禺乇 :
賱賲丕匕丕 賱丕 賷夭丕賱 鬲噩丕乇 丕賱賲禺丿乇丕鬲 賷毓賷卮賵賳 賲毓 丕賲賴丕鬲賴賲
亘乇睾賲 兀賳 鬲噩丕乇丞 丕賱賲禺丿乇丕鬲 鬲丿乇 兀賲賵丕賱丕 胤丕卅賱丞 賰賲丕 賳乇賶 賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丕鬲 賵 丕賱兀賮賱丕賲 丕賱丕 兀賳 丕賱兀賲賵丕賱 賱丕 鬲賵夭毓 毓賱賶 丕賱噩賲賷毓 亘毓丿丕賱丞 賰賲丕 賷丨丿孬 賮賷 卮乇賰鬲賰 鬲賲丕賲丕. 賳毓賲 賮賴賶 鬲噩丕乇丞 乇兀爻賲丕賱賷丞 兀賷囟丕.
賷兀禺匕賰 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賮賷 噩賵賱丞 睾乇賷亘丞 賵 賲孬賷乇丞 賮賷 毓丕賱賲 丕賱噩乇賷賲丞 賵 鬲噩丕乇丞 丕賱賲禺丿乇丕鬲 賲胤亘賯丕 賳馗乇賷丕鬲賴 丕賱毓噩賷亘丞 賵 丕丨氐丕卅賷丕鬲賴 丕賱賲孬賷乇丞 賱賷丿賱賱 毓賱賶 兀賳 氐睾丕乇 鬲噩丕乇 丕賱賲禺丿乇丕鬲 賷鬲賲賳賶 兀丨丿賴賲 賱賵 賷毓賲賱 丨丕乇爻 兀賲賳 兀賵 兀賷 毓賲賱 兀禺乇 賱賵 賱賲 賷胤賲毓 賮賷 丕賱賵氐賵賱 賱丿賵乇 丕賱夭毓賷賲 賵 賲賳 孬賲 丕賱鬲賳毓賲 亘丕賱賲夭賷丿 賲賳 丕賱兀賲賵丕賱 丨鬲賶 賷賯鬲賱 兀賵 賷賯亘囟 毓賱賷賴.
噩夭亍 兀禺乇 毓賳 毓賱丕賯丞 丕賱廿噩賴丕囟 亘丕賱噩乇賷賲丞 賯丿 賱丕 賷賰賵賳 賲賯賳毓丕 賮賷 毓丕賱賲賳丕 丕賱毓乇亘賶 孬賲 噩夭亍 兀禺賷乇 毓賳 丕賱毓賳氐乇賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕 鬲夭丕賱 亘氐賲丕鬲賴丕 賵丕囟丨丞 賵 兀孬丕乇賴丕 鬲賳毓賰爻 毓賱賶 丕賱賵丕賯毓 丕賱兀賲乇賷賰賷 丨鬲賶 丕賱兀賳.
丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賲賮賷丿 賵 噩賷丿 賮賷 賲毓馗賲 兀噩夭丕卅賴 賵 兀乇卮丨賴 賱賱賯乇丕亍丞.
July 18, 2007
I guess some people don't like this book because it's not centered around one theme. Instead, it's more about the seemingly diffuse academic work of one of the authors Steven D. Levitt (the other author is a journalist, Stephen J. Dubner). Levitt is something of an economist but more like a social scientist using the tools of Microeconomics applied to other fields that happen to catch his interest (often having something to do with cheating, corruption, crime, etc.). In the back of the book he mentions how he considers himself a student of Thomas Schelling who is kind of like the father of Game Theory (strategy theory?), except much more of a 'man of ideas' than what one might think of when one thinks about game theory today, which is much more mathematical.
Anyway, as for the book itself, I thought it was really great. I really like what Levitt is doing as far as using the tools of Microeconomics in other fields. One of my intellectual heroes (I only have a few) is Kenneth Waltz who did the exact same thing in the field of International Relations in the '70's and wrote the seminal book The Theory of International Politics, which pretty much the single-handedly invented defensive (neo) realism. More generally, I think Economics is probably the most formalized of the social sciences and the one to which others should esteem. A lot of the Political Science field concerned with both voter behavior and how legislatures work is now pretty formalized as well, and, I, for one, think this is a good thing. I don't see how anyone could think it's not (good) unless they a)think the scientific method cannot be used to analyze human behavior; or b)have a visceral aversion to mathematical languages. Actually, I am one of the latter, but I, at least, see the value in having a formalized language to work with.
As for the book itself, there's some maybe-controversial things in there like Levitt did some work that showed that the legalization of abortion in the U.S. (Roe v. Wade) was one of the main reasons that crime in the U.S. dropped in the '90's and continues at the same rates today. He stands behind it pretty hardily though and it doesn't seem like he has a moral agenda at all. Some might argue that the best writers are those who are best able to disguise their moral agenda, but considering he writes about all kinds of not-very-serious things like how sumo wrestling in Japan is probably corrupt as far as matches g,o and there's stuff in there about how real estate agents sell their houses for more than they sell their customers' houses (which, may or may not be surprising), I really don't think he has a hidden pro-life agenda.
Anyway, there's a bunch of stuff in there (the book), hence the 'freak' in Freakonomics. It's well-written. It's not dry. It's written for a lay audience. I recommend it. Read it and feel the power of social science! ;-)
Anyway, as for the book itself, I thought it was really great. I really like what Levitt is doing as far as using the tools of Microeconomics in other fields. One of my intellectual heroes (I only have a few) is Kenneth Waltz who did the exact same thing in the field of International Relations in the '70's and wrote the seminal book The Theory of International Politics, which pretty much the single-handedly invented defensive (neo) realism. More generally, I think Economics is probably the most formalized of the social sciences and the one to which others should esteem. A lot of the Political Science field concerned with both voter behavior and how legislatures work is now pretty formalized as well, and, I, for one, think this is a good thing. I don't see how anyone could think it's not (good) unless they a)think the scientific method cannot be used to analyze human behavior; or b)have a visceral aversion to mathematical languages. Actually, I am one of the latter, but I, at least, see the value in having a formalized language to work with.
As for the book itself, there's some maybe-controversial things in there like Levitt did some work that showed that the legalization of abortion in the U.S. (Roe v. Wade) was one of the main reasons that crime in the U.S. dropped in the '90's and continues at the same rates today. He stands behind it pretty hardily though and it doesn't seem like he has a moral agenda at all. Some might argue that the best writers are those who are best able to disguise their moral agenda, but considering he writes about all kinds of not-very-serious things like how sumo wrestling in Japan is probably corrupt as far as matches g,o and there's stuff in there about how real estate agents sell their houses for more than they sell their customers' houses (which, may or may not be surprising), I really don't think he has a hidden pro-life agenda.
Anyway, there's a bunch of stuff in there (the book), hence the 'freak' in Freakonomics. It's well-written. It's not dry. It's written for a lay audience. I recommend it. Read it and feel the power of social science! ;-)
July 12, 2022
I lost all faith in this book when it tried to teach you how to be a 鈥減erfect parent鈥� and came to the conclusion that 鈥渋t isn鈥檛 so much a matter of what you do as a parent; it鈥檚 who you are.鈥� He claims that your socioeconomic status determines whether or not you will be a good parent. One of his biggest points in this chapter is that nothing a parent does (for example, taking their child to museums or reading books to their toddler) matters in the slightest. The only data he uses to draw this conclusion is a collection of test scores. Obviously a high test score does not equal a well-raised, happy child in a healthy family environment. And of course what you do as a parent matters. You can鈥檛 totally neglect your child and then claim you鈥檙e a perfect parent because of your socioeconomic status. You also cannot determine what makes a good parent based on children鈥檚 test scores alone.
Also, can we talk about how self-congratulatory the author is? It makes the book such a chore to read when he includes things like how he is a demigod of economics or how much he dazzled journalists with his inventiveness and how he revolutionized the field.
Freakonomics is disappointing.
Also, can we talk about how self-congratulatory the author is? It makes the book such a chore to read when he includes things like how he is a demigod of economics or how much he dazzled journalists with his inventiveness and how he revolutionized the field.
Freakonomics is disappointing.
January 27, 2018
Extremely enlightening! Worthy of 15 stars out of 5! This is a book about the world and not about any science in particular. It's about learning to question the given and see beyond the obvious. An extremely useful gift in the misguiding modern world.
Yeah, populistic much too much but neverthless compulsively readable. A definite revisit and reread.
Q:
As Levitt sees it, economics is a science with excellent tools for gaining answers but a serious shortage of interesting questions. His particular gift is the ability to ask such questions. For instance: If drug dealers make so much money, why do they still live with their mothers? Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What really caused crime rates to plunge during the past decade? Do real-estate agents have their clients鈥� best interests at heart? Why do black parents give their children names that may hurt their career prospects? Do schoolteachers cheat to meet high-stakes testing standards? Is sumo wrestling corrupt?
And how does a homeless man in tattered clothing afford $50 headphones?
(c)
Q:
the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and鈥攊f the right questions are asked鈥攊s even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking.
(c)
Q:
鈥淓xperts鈥濃€攆rom criminologists to real-estate agents-use their informational advantage to serve their own agenda. However, they can be beat at their own game. And in the face of the Internet, their informational advantage is shrinking every day-as evidenced by, among other things, the falling price of coffins and life-insurance premiums.
Knowing what to measure and how to measure it makes a complicated world much less so. If you learn how to look at data in the right way, you can explain riddles that otherwise might have seemed impossible. Because there is nothing like the sheer power of numbers to scrub away layers of confusion and contradiction.
So the aim of this book is to explore the hidden side of . . . everything. This may occasionally be a frustrating exercise. It may sometimes feel as if we are peering at the world through a straw or even staring into a funhouse mirror; but the idea is to look at many different scenarios and examine them in a way they have rarely been examined.
...
Steven Levitt may not fully believe in himself, but he does believe in this: teachers and criminals and real-estate agents may lie, and politicians, and even CIA analysts. But numbers don鈥檛.
(c)
Q:
Levitt had an interview for the Society of Fellows, the venerable intellectual clubhouse at
Harvard that pays young scholars to do their own work, for three years, with no commitments.
Levitt felt he didn鈥檛 stand a chance. For starters, he didn鈥檛 consider himself an intellectual. He would
be interviewed over dinner by the senior fellows, a collection of world-renowned philosophers,
scientists, and historians. He worried he wouldn鈥檛 have enough conversation to last even the first
course.
Disquietingly, one of the senior fellows said to Levitt, 鈥淚鈥檓 having a hard time seeing the
unifying theme of your work. Could you explain it?鈥�
Levitt was stymied. He had no idea what his unifying theme was, or if he even had one.
Amartya Sen, the future Nobel-winning economist, jumped in and neatly summarized what he
saw as Levitt鈥檚 theme.
Yes, Levitt said eagerly, that鈥檚 my theme.
Another fellow then offered another theme.
You鈥檙e right, said Levitt, my theme.
And so it went, like dogs tugging at a bone, until the philosopher Robert Nozick interrupted.
鈥淗ow old are you, Steve?鈥� he asked.
鈥淭飞别苍迟测-蝉颈虫.鈥�
Nozick turned to the other fellows: 鈥淗e鈥檚 twenty-six years old. Why does he need to have a
unifying theme? Maybe he鈥檚 going to be one of those people who鈥檚 so talented he doesn鈥檛 need one.
He鈥檒l take a question and he鈥檒l just answer it, and it鈥檒l be fine.鈥�
(c)
Q:
There are three basic flavors of incentive: economic, social, and moral. Very often a single incentive scheme will include all three varieties. Think about the anti-smoking campaign of recent years. The addition of a $3-per-pack 鈥渟in tax鈥� is a strong economic incentive against buying cigarettes. The banning of cigarettes in restaurants and bars is a powerful social incentive. And when the U.S. government asserts that terrorists raise money by selling black-market cigarettes, that acts as a rather jarring moral incentive.
Some of the most compelling incentives yet invented have been put in place to deter crime. Considering this fact, it might be worthwhile to take a familiar question鈥攚hy is there so much crime in modern society?鈥攁nd stand it on its head: why isn鈥檛 there a lot more crime? After all, every one of us regularly passes up opportunities to maim, steal, and defraud. The chance of going to jail鈥攖hereby losing your job, your house, and your freedom, all of which are essentially economic penalties鈥攊s certainly a strong incentive. But when it comes to crime, people also respond to moral incentives (they don鈥檛 want to do something they consider wrong) and social incentives (they don鈥檛 want to be seen by others as doing something wrong). For certain types of misbehavior, social incentives are terribly powerful. In an echo of Hester Prynne鈥檚 scarlet letter, many American cities now fight prostitution with a 鈥渟haming鈥� offensive, posting pictures of convicted johns (and prostitutes) on websites or on local-access television. Which is a more horrifying deterrent: a $500 fine for soliciting a prostitute or the thought of your friends and family ogling you on .
(褋)
Q:
Some cheating leaves barely a shadow of evidence. In other cases, the evidence is massive.
Consider what happened one spring evening at midnight in 1987: seven million American children
suddenly disappeared. The worst kidnapping wave in history? Hardly. It was the night of April 15,
and the Internal Revenue Service had just changed a rule. Instead of merely listing each dependent
child, tax filers were now required to provide a Social Security number for each child. Suddenly,
seven million children鈥攃hildren who had existed only as phantom exemptions on the previous
year鈥檚 1040 forms鈥攙anished, representing about one in ten of all dependent children in the United
States
(c)
Q:
Of all the ideas that Kennedy had thought up鈥攁nd would think up in the future鈥攖o fight bigotry, his Superman campaign was easily the cleverest and probably the most productive. It had the precise effect he hoped: turning the Klan鈥檚 secrecy against itself, converting precious knowledge
into ammunition for mockery. Instead of roping in millions of members as it had just a generation
earlier, the Klan lost momentum and began to founder. Although the Klan would never quite die,
especially down South鈥擠avid Duke, a smooth-talking Klan leader from Louisiana, mounted
legitimate bids for the U.S. Senate and other offices鈥攊t was also never quite the same. In The Fiery Cross: The Ku Klux Klan in America, the historian Wyn Craig Wade calls Stetson Kennedy 鈥渢he single most important factor in preventing a postwar revival of the Ku Klux Klan in the North.鈥�
This did not happen because Kennedy was courageous or resolute or unflappable, even though he was all of these. It happened because Kennedy understood the raw power of information. The Ku Klux Klan was a group whose power鈥攎uch like that of politicians or real-estate agents or stockbrokers鈥攚as derived in large part from the fact that it hoarded information. Once that information falls into the wrong hands (or, depending on your point of view, the right hands), much of the group鈥檚 advantage disappears.
(褋)
Q:
Information is so powerful that the assumption of information, even if the information does not actually exist, can have a sobering effect.
(c)
Q:
It is common for one party to a transaction to have better information than another party. In
the parlance of economists, such a case is known as an information asymmetry. We accept as a
verity of capitalism that someone (usually an expert) knows more than someone else (usually a
consumer).
(c)
Q:
If you were to assume that many experts use their information to your detriment, you鈥檇 be
right. Experts depend on the fact that you don鈥檛 have the information they do. Or that you are so
befuddled by the complexity of their operation that you wouldn鈥檛 know what to do with the
information if you had it. Or that you are so in awe of their expertise that you wouldn鈥檛 dare
challenge them. If your doctor suggests that you have angioplasty鈥攅ven though some current
research suggests that angioplasty often does little to prevent heart attacks鈥攜ou aren鈥檛 likely to
think that the doctor is using his informational advantage to make a few thousand dollars for
himself or his buddy. But as David Hillis, an interventional cardiologist at the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, explained to the New York Times, a doctor may have the
same economic incentives as a car salesman or a funeral director or a mutual fund manager: 鈥淚f
you鈥檙e an invasive cardiologist and Joe Smith, the local internist, is sending you patients, and if you
tell them they don鈥檛 need the procedure, pretty soon Joe Smith doesn鈥檛 send patients anymore.鈥�
(c)
Q:
Consider this true story, related by John Donohue, a law professor who in 2001 was teaching at Stanford University: 鈥淚 was just about to buy a house on the Stanford campus,鈥� he recalls, 鈥渁nd the seller鈥檚 agent kept telling me what a good deal I was getting because the market was about to zoom. As soon as I signed the purchase contract, he asked me if I would need an agent to sell my previous Stanford house. I told him that I would probably try to sell without an agent, and he replied, 鈥楯ohn, that might work under normal conditions, but with the market tanking now, you really need the help of a broker.鈥欌€�
Within five minutes, a zooming market had tanked. Such are the marvels that can be conjured by an agent in search of the next deal.
(c)
Q:
They were also a lot richer, taller, skinnier, and better-looking than average. That, at least, is what they wrote about themselves. More than 4 percent of the online daters claimed to earn more than $200,000 a year, whereas fewer than 1 percent of typical Internet users actually earn that much, suggesting that three of the four big earners were exaggerating. Male and female users typically reported that they are about an inch taller than the national average. As for weight, the men were in line with the national average, but the women typically said they weighed about twenty pounds less than the national average.
Most impressively, fully 70 percent of the women claimed 鈥渁bove average鈥� looks, including 24 percent claiming 鈥渧ery good looks.鈥� The online men too were gorgeous: 67 percent called themselves 鈥渁bove average,鈥� including 21 percent with 鈥渧ery good looks.鈥� This leaves only about 30 percent of the users with 鈥渁verage鈥� looks, including a paltry 1 percent with 鈥渓ess than average鈥� looks鈥攚hich suggests that the typical online dater is either a fabulist, a narcissist, or simply resistant to the meaning of 鈥渁verage.鈥� (Or perhaps they are all just realists: as any real-estate agent knows, the typical house isn鈥檛 鈥渃harming鈥� or 鈥渇antastic,鈥� but unless you say it is, no one will even bother to take a look.) Twenty-eight percent of the women on the site said they were blond, a number far beyond the national average, which indicates a lot of dyeing, or lying, or both.
Some users, meanwhile, were bracingly honest. Eight percent of the men鈥攁bout 1 in every 12 conceded that they were married, with half of these 8 percent reporting that they were 鈥渉appily married.鈥� But the fact that they were honest doesn鈥檛 mean they were rash. Of the 258 鈥渉appily married鈥� men in the sample, only 9 chose to post a picture of themselves. The reward of gaining a mistress was evidently outweighed by the risk of having your wife discover your personal ad.
(c)
Q:
But if there is no unifying theme to Freakonomics, there is at least a common thread running through the everyday application of Freakonomics. It has to do with thinking sensibly about how people behave in the real world. All it requires is a novel way of looking, of discerning, of measuring. This isn鈥檛 necessarily a difficult task, nor does it require supersophisticated thinking. We have essentially tried to figure out what the typical gang member or sumo wrestler figured out on his own (although we had to do so in reverse).
Will the ability to think such thoughts improve your life materially? Probably not. Perhaps you鈥檒l put up a sturdy gate around your swimming pool or push your real-estate agent to work a little harder. But the net effect is likely to be more subtle than that.
You might become more skeptical of the conventional wisdom; you may begin looking for hints as to how things aren鈥檛 quite what they seem; perhaps you will seek out some trove of data and sift through it, balancing your intelligence and your intuition to arrive at a glimmering new idea. Some of these ideas might make you uncomfortable, even unpopular. To claim that legalized abortion resulted in a massive drop in crime will inevitably lead to explosive moral reactions.
(c)
Yeah, populistic much too much but neverthless compulsively readable. A definite revisit and reread.
Q:
As Levitt sees it, economics is a science with excellent tools for gaining answers but a serious shortage of interesting questions. His particular gift is the ability to ask such questions. For instance: If drug dealers make so much money, why do they still live with their mothers? Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What really caused crime rates to plunge during the past decade? Do real-estate agents have their clients鈥� best interests at heart? Why do black parents give their children names that may hurt their career prospects? Do schoolteachers cheat to meet high-stakes testing standards? Is sumo wrestling corrupt?
And how does a homeless man in tattered clothing afford $50 headphones?
(c)
Q:
the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and鈥攊f the right questions are asked鈥攊s even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking.
(c)
Q:
鈥淓xperts鈥濃€攆rom criminologists to real-estate agents-use their informational advantage to serve their own agenda. However, they can be beat at their own game. And in the face of the Internet, their informational advantage is shrinking every day-as evidenced by, among other things, the falling price of coffins and life-insurance premiums.
Knowing what to measure and how to measure it makes a complicated world much less so. If you learn how to look at data in the right way, you can explain riddles that otherwise might have seemed impossible. Because there is nothing like the sheer power of numbers to scrub away layers of confusion and contradiction.
So the aim of this book is to explore the hidden side of . . . everything. This may occasionally be a frustrating exercise. It may sometimes feel as if we are peering at the world through a straw or even staring into a funhouse mirror; but the idea is to look at many different scenarios and examine them in a way they have rarely been examined.
...
Steven Levitt may not fully believe in himself, but he does believe in this: teachers and criminals and real-estate agents may lie, and politicians, and even CIA analysts. But numbers don鈥檛.
(c)
Q:
Levitt had an interview for the Society of Fellows, the venerable intellectual clubhouse at
Harvard that pays young scholars to do their own work, for three years, with no commitments.
Levitt felt he didn鈥檛 stand a chance. For starters, he didn鈥檛 consider himself an intellectual. He would
be interviewed over dinner by the senior fellows, a collection of world-renowned philosophers,
scientists, and historians. He worried he wouldn鈥檛 have enough conversation to last even the first
course.
Disquietingly, one of the senior fellows said to Levitt, 鈥淚鈥檓 having a hard time seeing the
unifying theme of your work. Could you explain it?鈥�
Levitt was stymied. He had no idea what his unifying theme was, or if he even had one.
Amartya Sen, the future Nobel-winning economist, jumped in and neatly summarized what he
saw as Levitt鈥檚 theme.
Yes, Levitt said eagerly, that鈥檚 my theme.
Another fellow then offered another theme.
You鈥檙e right, said Levitt, my theme.
And so it went, like dogs tugging at a bone, until the philosopher Robert Nozick interrupted.
鈥淗ow old are you, Steve?鈥� he asked.
鈥淭飞别苍迟测-蝉颈虫.鈥�
Nozick turned to the other fellows: 鈥淗e鈥檚 twenty-six years old. Why does he need to have a
unifying theme? Maybe he鈥檚 going to be one of those people who鈥檚 so talented he doesn鈥檛 need one.
He鈥檒l take a question and he鈥檒l just answer it, and it鈥檒l be fine.鈥�
(c)
Q:
There are three basic flavors of incentive: economic, social, and moral. Very often a single incentive scheme will include all three varieties. Think about the anti-smoking campaign of recent years. The addition of a $3-per-pack 鈥渟in tax鈥� is a strong economic incentive against buying cigarettes. The banning of cigarettes in restaurants and bars is a powerful social incentive. And when the U.S. government asserts that terrorists raise money by selling black-market cigarettes, that acts as a rather jarring moral incentive.
Some of the most compelling incentives yet invented have been put in place to deter crime. Considering this fact, it might be worthwhile to take a familiar question鈥攚hy is there so much crime in modern society?鈥攁nd stand it on its head: why isn鈥檛 there a lot more crime? After all, every one of us regularly passes up opportunities to maim, steal, and defraud. The chance of going to jail鈥攖hereby losing your job, your house, and your freedom, all of which are essentially economic penalties鈥攊s certainly a strong incentive. But when it comes to crime, people also respond to moral incentives (they don鈥檛 want to do something they consider wrong) and social incentives (they don鈥檛 want to be seen by others as doing something wrong). For certain types of misbehavior, social incentives are terribly powerful. In an echo of Hester Prynne鈥檚 scarlet letter, many American cities now fight prostitution with a 鈥渟haming鈥� offensive, posting pictures of convicted johns (and prostitutes) on websites or on local-access television. Which is a more horrifying deterrent: a $500 fine for soliciting a prostitute or the thought of your friends and family ogling you on .
(褋)
Q:
Some cheating leaves barely a shadow of evidence. In other cases, the evidence is massive.
Consider what happened one spring evening at midnight in 1987: seven million American children
suddenly disappeared. The worst kidnapping wave in history? Hardly. It was the night of April 15,
and the Internal Revenue Service had just changed a rule. Instead of merely listing each dependent
child, tax filers were now required to provide a Social Security number for each child. Suddenly,
seven million children鈥攃hildren who had existed only as phantom exemptions on the previous
year鈥檚 1040 forms鈥攙anished, representing about one in ten of all dependent children in the United
States
(c)
Q:
Of all the ideas that Kennedy had thought up鈥攁nd would think up in the future鈥攖o fight bigotry, his Superman campaign was easily the cleverest and probably the most productive. It had the precise effect he hoped: turning the Klan鈥檚 secrecy against itself, converting precious knowledge
into ammunition for mockery. Instead of roping in millions of members as it had just a generation
earlier, the Klan lost momentum and began to founder. Although the Klan would never quite die,
especially down South鈥擠avid Duke, a smooth-talking Klan leader from Louisiana, mounted
legitimate bids for the U.S. Senate and other offices鈥攊t was also never quite the same. In The Fiery Cross: The Ku Klux Klan in America, the historian Wyn Craig Wade calls Stetson Kennedy 鈥渢he single most important factor in preventing a postwar revival of the Ku Klux Klan in the North.鈥�
This did not happen because Kennedy was courageous or resolute or unflappable, even though he was all of these. It happened because Kennedy understood the raw power of information. The Ku Klux Klan was a group whose power鈥攎uch like that of politicians or real-estate agents or stockbrokers鈥攚as derived in large part from the fact that it hoarded information. Once that information falls into the wrong hands (or, depending on your point of view, the right hands), much of the group鈥檚 advantage disappears.
(褋)
Q:
Information is so powerful that the assumption of information, even if the information does not actually exist, can have a sobering effect.
(c)
Q:
It is common for one party to a transaction to have better information than another party. In
the parlance of economists, such a case is known as an information asymmetry. We accept as a
verity of capitalism that someone (usually an expert) knows more than someone else (usually a
consumer).
(c)
Q:
If you were to assume that many experts use their information to your detriment, you鈥檇 be
right. Experts depend on the fact that you don鈥檛 have the information they do. Or that you are so
befuddled by the complexity of their operation that you wouldn鈥檛 know what to do with the
information if you had it. Or that you are so in awe of their expertise that you wouldn鈥檛 dare
challenge them. If your doctor suggests that you have angioplasty鈥攅ven though some current
research suggests that angioplasty often does little to prevent heart attacks鈥攜ou aren鈥檛 likely to
think that the doctor is using his informational advantage to make a few thousand dollars for
himself or his buddy. But as David Hillis, an interventional cardiologist at the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, explained to the New York Times, a doctor may have the
same economic incentives as a car salesman or a funeral director or a mutual fund manager: 鈥淚f
you鈥檙e an invasive cardiologist and Joe Smith, the local internist, is sending you patients, and if you
tell them they don鈥檛 need the procedure, pretty soon Joe Smith doesn鈥檛 send patients anymore.鈥�
(c)
Q:
Consider this true story, related by John Donohue, a law professor who in 2001 was teaching at Stanford University: 鈥淚 was just about to buy a house on the Stanford campus,鈥� he recalls, 鈥渁nd the seller鈥檚 agent kept telling me what a good deal I was getting because the market was about to zoom. As soon as I signed the purchase contract, he asked me if I would need an agent to sell my previous Stanford house. I told him that I would probably try to sell without an agent, and he replied, 鈥楯ohn, that might work under normal conditions, but with the market tanking now, you really need the help of a broker.鈥欌€�
Within five minutes, a zooming market had tanked. Such are the marvels that can be conjured by an agent in search of the next deal.
(c)
Q:
They were also a lot richer, taller, skinnier, and better-looking than average. That, at least, is what they wrote about themselves. More than 4 percent of the online daters claimed to earn more than $200,000 a year, whereas fewer than 1 percent of typical Internet users actually earn that much, suggesting that three of the four big earners were exaggerating. Male and female users typically reported that they are about an inch taller than the national average. As for weight, the men were in line with the national average, but the women typically said they weighed about twenty pounds less than the national average.
Most impressively, fully 70 percent of the women claimed 鈥渁bove average鈥� looks, including 24 percent claiming 鈥渧ery good looks.鈥� The online men too were gorgeous: 67 percent called themselves 鈥渁bove average,鈥� including 21 percent with 鈥渧ery good looks.鈥� This leaves only about 30 percent of the users with 鈥渁verage鈥� looks, including a paltry 1 percent with 鈥渓ess than average鈥� looks鈥攚hich suggests that the typical online dater is either a fabulist, a narcissist, or simply resistant to the meaning of 鈥渁verage.鈥� (Or perhaps they are all just realists: as any real-estate agent knows, the typical house isn鈥檛 鈥渃harming鈥� or 鈥渇antastic,鈥� but unless you say it is, no one will even bother to take a look.) Twenty-eight percent of the women on the site said they were blond, a number far beyond the national average, which indicates a lot of dyeing, or lying, or both.
Some users, meanwhile, were bracingly honest. Eight percent of the men鈥攁bout 1 in every 12 conceded that they were married, with half of these 8 percent reporting that they were 鈥渉appily married.鈥� But the fact that they were honest doesn鈥檛 mean they were rash. Of the 258 鈥渉appily married鈥� men in the sample, only 9 chose to post a picture of themselves. The reward of gaining a mistress was evidently outweighed by the risk of having your wife discover your personal ad.
(c)
Q:
But if there is no unifying theme to Freakonomics, there is at least a common thread running through the everyday application of Freakonomics. It has to do with thinking sensibly about how people behave in the real world. All it requires is a novel way of looking, of discerning, of measuring. This isn鈥檛 necessarily a difficult task, nor does it require supersophisticated thinking. We have essentially tried to figure out what the typical gang member or sumo wrestler figured out on his own (although we had to do so in reverse).
Will the ability to think such thoughts improve your life materially? Probably not. Perhaps you鈥檒l put up a sturdy gate around your swimming pool or push your real-estate agent to work a little harder. But the net effect is likely to be more subtle than that.
You might become more skeptical of the conventional wisdom; you may begin looking for hints as to how things aren鈥檛 quite what they seem; perhaps you will seek out some trove of data and sift through it, balancing your intelligence and your intuition to arrive at a glimmering new idea. Some of these ideas might make you uncomfortable, even unpopular. To claim that legalized abortion resulted in a massive drop in crime will inevitably lead to explosive moral reactions.
(c)
June 22, 2016
Freakonomics explores the hidden side of everything.
If morality describes the ideal world, then economics describes the actual world. Further, Freakonomics studies incentives and how different people in different professions respond.
Some of the case studies include bagel salesmen, sumo wrestlers, public school teachers, crack cocaine dealers and parents. This is a smart, fun book; but it's not for everyone. Through a high nerd prospective, the authors deliver a slide rule and pocket protector observation of some controversial subjects.
If morality describes the ideal world, then economics describes the actual world. Further, Freakonomics studies incentives and how different people in different professions respond.
Some of the case studies include bagel salesmen, sumo wrestlers, public school teachers, crack cocaine dealers and parents. This is a smart, fun book; but it's not for everyone. Through a high nerd prospective, the authors deliver a slide rule and pocket protector observation of some controversial subjects.
September 5, 2024
I read this book because it takes everyday things like crime, school, and parenting, gives them a fresh twist, and shares surprising truths with jokes and stories that make learning fun and simple!
Incentives Influence Behaviour:
People do things because they want to get something good or avoid something bad, even if it鈥檚 not what they would expect.
Don't Believe Everything You Hear:
Sometimes, what people think is true isn't. Numbers and facts can tell a different story.
Things Happen for Reasons:
Just because two things happen simultaneously doesn't mean one caused the other.
People Have Secrets:
Sometimes, people do things that seem strange or wrong for reasons we don't understand.
Rules Can Backfire:
Trying to fix a problem can sometimes make it worse.
Numbers Tell the Truth:
Looking at facts and data can help us understand the world better, even when it's surprising.
Overall, "Freakonomics" encourages readers to think critically and explore the hidden side of everyday life.
Incentives Influence Behaviour:
People do things because they want to get something good or avoid something bad, even if it鈥檚 not what they would expect.
Don't Believe Everything You Hear:
Sometimes, what people think is true isn't. Numbers and facts can tell a different story.
Things Happen for Reasons:
Just because two things happen simultaneously doesn't mean one caused the other.
People Have Secrets:
Sometimes, people do things that seem strange or wrong for reasons we don't understand.
Rules Can Backfire:
Trying to fix a problem can sometimes make it worse.
Numbers Tell the Truth:
Looking at facts and data can help us understand the world better, even when it's surprising.
Overall, "Freakonomics" encourages readers to think critically and explore the hidden side of everyday life.
March 27, 2024
Capitalism鈥檚 Economic illiteracy 2.0鈥�
Preamble:
--"probably the best-known economics book of our time"
鈥his is how (real-world) economist Ha-Joon Chang described Freakonomics (2005), before critiquing its entire premise (see later).
--I was reminded of this when re-reading Klein鈥檚 The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (2007). I was thinking how Klein鈥檚 book might be the best-known anti-capitalist book of our time, so I did some quick searches to see how books on 鈥渆conomics鈥� and 鈥渃补辫颈迟补濒颈蝉尘鈥� ranked on 欧宝娱乐 in terms of number-of-ratings. You can see a longer list in my review of Klein鈥檚 book:
-838,472 ratings: Freakonomics (the most ratings of any 鈥渆conomics鈥� book I could find).
-46,867 ratings: The Shock Doctrine
--Now, if you know me, you鈥檒l know why I鈥檝e avoided Freakonomics for so long.
鈥t reminds me of the grueling process of trying to learn about the real world when your entire vocabulary is Orwellian鈥� when you cannot even formulate coherent questions. We should pause here and reflect on how significant this barrier is.
--I remember walking in circles amidst the prominently-displayed glossy covers which I started with, including:
-ex. Malcolm Gladwell: a salesperson rather than a serious social theorist: Outliers: The Story of Success; Gladwell鈥檚 blurb is on the cover of Freakonomics: 鈥淧repare to be dazzled.鈥�
-ex. Steven Pinker: The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature is referenced in the book.
--Such a popular book was indeed a breeze to read, but harder to review. If I could find satisfaction in unpacking Jordan Peterson鈥檚 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, then it鈥檚 about time I cross off the most popular 鈥渆conomics鈥� book.
Highlights:
1) Economics illiteracy 2.0:
--The best propaganda must start with a kernel of truth, as a lure (ex. Jordan Peterson acknowledging the 鈥渃haos鈥� and lack of meaning/values in modern society).
鈥hus, Levitt (the economist in Freakonomics) tries to distance himself from:
a) Mainstream economics (i.e. Neoclassical economics, which is never named):
--We can think of this as 鈥淓conomics illiteracy 1.0鈥�. Levitt correctly disparages this school of thought as a bunch of math/econometrics/theory that do not ask (I would say avoid) interesting questions (esp. critical framing).
--Levitt still seems to describe this as a 鈥渟cience鈥� (misleading) with excellent tools (also misleading), applied to the monetary world of stock markets/economic growth/inflation/taxes which Levitt claims to avoid. If the tools are excellent, it鈥檚 strange how Levitt avoids applying them to the listed topics (imagine studying 鈥渆conomics鈥� and saying, nah, don鈥檛 care about these. What a relief, that would make my studies much easier!).
b) Freakonomics (i.e. Neoclassical microeconomics):
--This is 鈥淓conomics illiteracy 2.0鈥�. If you read carefully, the authors admit their book is actually 鈥渁pplied microeconomics鈥� with a hearty dose of marketing (鈥渞ogue鈥�, 鈥渦northodox鈥�, 鈥淔reak鈥�).
--Such rebels, a journalist for the New York Times Magazine marketing an economist from the infamous Chicago School of Economics (such a credible tradition, including the 鈥淐hicago Boys鈥� 鈥渇ree market鈥� economists in Chile鈥檚 Pinochet dictatorship). Director of the Becker Friedman (yes, Milton Friedman) Institute for Research in Economics.
鈥inner of the John Bates Clark Medal which the book describes as 鈥渁 sort of junior Nobel Prize for young economists鈥�: firstly, the 鈥淣obel Prize鈥� in Economics is infamous for being a fake Nobel given to mostly pro-finance shills; secondly, John Bates Clark was the infamous Neoclassical economics pioneer in the US who justified inequalities (during the robber barons 鈥淕ilded Age鈥�!) as natural law based on their contributions, departing from Classical rent theory (thus, 鈥淣eoclassical鈥� is 鈥渁苍迟颈-颁濒补蝉蝉颈肠补濒鈥� according to Michael Hudson/Anwar Shaikh etc.).
--Given such mainstream biases, Freakonomics mentions 鈥渃补辫颈迟补濒颈蝉尘鈥� only twice (and never defined), (1) in the context of Adam Smith (and the rise of capitalism, long ago so readers cannot contextualize), and (2) tossed in (with zero context) when mentioning information asymmetries.
--With the big picture of economics left opaque, Levitt focuses on (1) individual behavioral incentives and (2) data analysis to explore 鈥渆veryday life鈥�/鈥渉ow the world really works鈥� (including pop culture/sports/crime)/鈥渆verything鈥�. This is why Ha-Joon Chang questions the entire premise of this 鈥渆conomics鈥� book, in Ch.1 鈥淟ife, the Universe and Everything鈥� of Economics: The User's Guide
--The root of 鈥渆conomics鈥� is described as how people (individuals) get what they want. The problem with starting from the individual/micro is the structural/macro rules (esp. economics) are not assessed (in terms of how they are socially constructed/alternatives). So, even if Levitt focuses on cheating/corruption/crime (which indeed are avoided in Neoclassical economics), it鈥檚 from the individual level so the structural incentives seem vaguely inevitable.
--This book is actually dealing with psychology/sociology topics (thus, asking interesting but misplaced questions) using crude tools described in an economized manner. For an actual intro to real-world economics, see: Talking to My Daughter About the Economy: or, How Capitalism Works鈥攁nd How It Fails.
鈥ee comments below for rest of the review鈥�
Preamble:
--"probably the best-known economics book of our time"
鈥his is how (real-world) economist Ha-Joon Chang described Freakonomics (2005), before critiquing its entire premise (see later).
--I was reminded of this when re-reading Klein鈥檚 The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (2007). I was thinking how Klein鈥檚 book might be the best-known anti-capitalist book of our time, so I did some quick searches to see how books on 鈥渆conomics鈥� and 鈥渃补辫颈迟补濒颈蝉尘鈥� ranked on 欧宝娱乐 in terms of number-of-ratings. You can see a longer list in my review of Klein鈥檚 book:
-838,472 ratings: Freakonomics (the most ratings of any 鈥渆conomics鈥� book I could find).
-46,867 ratings: The Shock Doctrine
--Now, if you know me, you鈥檒l know why I鈥檝e avoided Freakonomics for so long.
鈥t reminds me of the grueling process of trying to learn about the real world when your entire vocabulary is Orwellian鈥� when you cannot even formulate coherent questions. We should pause here and reflect on how significant this barrier is.
--I remember walking in circles amidst the prominently-displayed glossy covers which I started with, including:
-ex. Malcolm Gladwell: a salesperson rather than a serious social theorist: Outliers: The Story of Success; Gladwell鈥檚 blurb is on the cover of Freakonomics: 鈥淧repare to be dazzled.鈥�
-ex. Steven Pinker: The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature is referenced in the book.
--Such a popular book was indeed a breeze to read, but harder to review. If I could find satisfaction in unpacking Jordan Peterson鈥檚 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, then it鈥檚 about time I cross off the most popular 鈥渆conomics鈥� book.
Highlights:
1) Economics illiteracy 2.0:
--The best propaganda must start with a kernel of truth, as a lure (ex. Jordan Peterson acknowledging the 鈥渃haos鈥� and lack of meaning/values in modern society).
鈥hus, Levitt (the economist in Freakonomics) tries to distance himself from:
a) Mainstream economics (i.e. Neoclassical economics, which is never named):
--We can think of this as 鈥淓conomics illiteracy 1.0鈥�. Levitt correctly disparages this school of thought as a bunch of math/econometrics/theory that do not ask (I would say avoid) interesting questions (esp. critical framing).
--Levitt still seems to describe this as a 鈥渟cience鈥� (misleading) with excellent tools (also misleading), applied to the monetary world of stock markets/economic growth/inflation/taxes which Levitt claims to avoid. If the tools are excellent, it鈥檚 strange how Levitt avoids applying them to the listed topics (imagine studying 鈥渆conomics鈥� and saying, nah, don鈥檛 care about these. What a relief, that would make my studies much easier!).
b) Freakonomics (i.e. Neoclassical microeconomics):
--This is 鈥淓conomics illiteracy 2.0鈥�. If you read carefully, the authors admit their book is actually 鈥渁pplied microeconomics鈥� with a hearty dose of marketing (鈥渞ogue鈥�, 鈥渦northodox鈥�, 鈥淔reak鈥�).
--Such rebels, a journalist for the New York Times Magazine marketing an economist from the infamous Chicago School of Economics (such a credible tradition, including the 鈥淐hicago Boys鈥� 鈥渇ree market鈥� economists in Chile鈥檚 Pinochet dictatorship). Director of the Becker Friedman (yes, Milton Friedman) Institute for Research in Economics.
鈥inner of the John Bates Clark Medal which the book describes as 鈥渁 sort of junior Nobel Prize for young economists鈥�: firstly, the 鈥淣obel Prize鈥� in Economics is infamous for being a fake Nobel given to mostly pro-finance shills; secondly, John Bates Clark was the infamous Neoclassical economics pioneer in the US who justified inequalities (during the robber barons 鈥淕ilded Age鈥�!) as natural law based on their contributions, departing from Classical rent theory (thus, 鈥淣eoclassical鈥� is 鈥渁苍迟颈-颁濒补蝉蝉颈肠补濒鈥� according to Michael Hudson/Anwar Shaikh etc.).
--Given such mainstream biases, Freakonomics mentions 鈥渃补辫颈迟补濒颈蝉尘鈥� only twice (and never defined), (1) in the context of Adam Smith (and the rise of capitalism, long ago so readers cannot contextualize), and (2) tossed in (with zero context) when mentioning information asymmetries.
--With the big picture of economics left opaque, Levitt focuses on (1) individual behavioral incentives and (2) data analysis to explore 鈥渆veryday life鈥�/鈥渉ow the world really works鈥� (including pop culture/sports/crime)/鈥渆verything鈥�. This is why Ha-Joon Chang questions the entire premise of this 鈥渆conomics鈥� book, in Ch.1 鈥淟ife, the Universe and Everything鈥� of Economics: The User's Guide
--The root of 鈥渆conomics鈥� is described as how people (individuals) get what they want. The problem with starting from the individual/micro is the structural/macro rules (esp. economics) are not assessed (in terms of how they are socially constructed/alternatives). So, even if Levitt focuses on cheating/corruption/crime (which indeed are avoided in Neoclassical economics), it鈥檚 from the individual level so the structural incentives seem vaguely inevitable.
--This book is actually dealing with psychology/sociology topics (thus, asking interesting but misplaced questions) using crude tools described in an economized manner. For an actual intro to real-world economics, see: Talking to My Daughter About the Economy: or, How Capitalism Works鈥攁nd How It Fails.
鈥ee comments below for rest of the review鈥�
July 9, 2016
As the old joke goes, the questions in economics exams are the same every year; only the answers change.
(re-reading in prep for the super-freaks)
July 9, 2008
The Basics:
Freakonomics isn鈥檛 really about any one thing, which makes it a bit hard to summarize. In essence, it鈥檚 economist Steven Levitt playing around with economic principles and basic statistical analysis to examine various cultural trends and phenomena. He tackles a variety of questions, from whether or not sumo wrestlers cheat (they do) to whether or not a child鈥檚 name determines his success (it doesn鈥檛). He does this all through examining statistics and data, trying to find facts to back up various assertions rather than relying on conventional wisdom.
The Good:
As a person who is sick of the inability of most people to have a rational discourse on any even vaguely politicized topic, and a self-proclaimed skeptic, it鈥檚 nice to read anyone who endorses looking at hard data to make judgments about possibly controversial issues. Levitt does a nice job of not only proclaiming the advantages of this sort of rational outlook, but also of showing that when you actually examine the data, you sometimes get surprising results. Furthermore, he takes the time to point out that there is a difference between correlation and causation, and that many people mistake one for the other. Again, a nice touch.
The actual questions that Levitt asks are all fairly interesting, though some will appeal to certain readers more than others. In addition to cheating sumotori and strange names, Levitt also examines cheating teachers, the economics of crack dealers, and the effect of abortion on crime. Crime, in point of fact, seems to be Levitt鈥檚 greatest interest, and I wonder if he might not have been better served by writing an entire book on the relationship between economics and crime, as opposed to trying to touch on a number of different subjects that are all largely unrelated. It might have made for a tighter, more focused book.
The writing is solid; simple and easy, but solid. Despite being a book about economics, it鈥檚 not a terribly dense read, as witnessed by the fact that I finished it off in about two days. Granted, it was two days of heavy reading, but it was still two days.
The Bad:
For a book that鈥檚 so gung ho about statistics, there aren鈥檛 many statistics in here. Levitt claims that the numbers back up his research, but he rarely provides the data itself, which makes it difficult to tell how much he might be manipulating statistics to serve his own ends. It makes the book seem like it鈥檚 been dumbed down for the plebian masses, which will be very frustrating to any intelligent reader who wants to look at Levitt鈥檚 data themselves. Any reader who doesn鈥檛 feel like reading the numbers can do what most of us did in undergrad鈥攕kip the numbers sections. It鈥檚 just sloppy; I can鈥檛 imagine Levitt would do this in a formal economics paper.
The book also lacks much in the way of an unifying theme, a problem that is acknowledged within the text itself; that isn鈥檛 only sad, it鈥檚 sloppy. I doubt that a writer of Dubner鈥檚 skill and an economist of Levitt鈥檚 apparent genius (more on that below) are totally incapable of thinking of and describing some kind of unifying theme throughout this work. It just smacks of laziness, even more so when there鈥檚 a half-hearted 鈥渨ell, I guess you could say it鈥檚 this鈥︹€� sort of thing in the epilogue. Again, I have trouble imagining that Levitt would submit a paper that was this disjointed to a serious economic publication; why should the general public be treated less seriously?
The Ugly:
The self-aggrandizement. Oh, the self-aggrandizement.
Every chapter is preceded by excerpts from an article about Levitt, which all tell us what a brilliant and unconventional economist this man is. In the introduction, we鈥檙e told that he really wasn鈥檛 that interested in writing a book, unless he got to work with this wonderful journalist who had written an article about him earlier. The cover promises that we will be 鈥渄azzled鈥� by a 鈥渞ogue economist鈥� who explains 鈥渢he hidden side of everything.鈥�
For all of this talk of brilliance and dazzling explanations, the book doesn鈥檛 seem that brilliant. It seems like a transcript of some interesting dinner conversation with a smart guy, the sort that makes you go home and think, 鈥渉ey, this stuff is interesting, I ought to go pick up a book about it.鈥� Of course, the problem here is that you鈥檝e already picked up the book.
The fact that Levitt wasn鈥檛 that interested in writing a book in the first place is telling; this book feels like something written by a person who needed to get the work done, but really wasn鈥檛 engaged in what he was doing. Maybe he should have waited until he was a little more motivated.
Freakonomics isn鈥檛 really about any one thing, which makes it a bit hard to summarize. In essence, it鈥檚 economist Steven Levitt playing around with economic principles and basic statistical analysis to examine various cultural trends and phenomena. He tackles a variety of questions, from whether or not sumo wrestlers cheat (they do) to whether or not a child鈥檚 name determines his success (it doesn鈥檛). He does this all through examining statistics and data, trying to find facts to back up various assertions rather than relying on conventional wisdom.
The Good:
As a person who is sick of the inability of most people to have a rational discourse on any even vaguely politicized topic, and a self-proclaimed skeptic, it鈥檚 nice to read anyone who endorses looking at hard data to make judgments about possibly controversial issues. Levitt does a nice job of not only proclaiming the advantages of this sort of rational outlook, but also of showing that when you actually examine the data, you sometimes get surprising results. Furthermore, he takes the time to point out that there is a difference between correlation and causation, and that many people mistake one for the other. Again, a nice touch.
The actual questions that Levitt asks are all fairly interesting, though some will appeal to certain readers more than others. In addition to cheating sumotori and strange names, Levitt also examines cheating teachers, the economics of crack dealers, and the effect of abortion on crime. Crime, in point of fact, seems to be Levitt鈥檚 greatest interest, and I wonder if he might not have been better served by writing an entire book on the relationship between economics and crime, as opposed to trying to touch on a number of different subjects that are all largely unrelated. It might have made for a tighter, more focused book.
The writing is solid; simple and easy, but solid. Despite being a book about economics, it鈥檚 not a terribly dense read, as witnessed by the fact that I finished it off in about two days. Granted, it was two days of heavy reading, but it was still two days.
The Bad:
For a book that鈥檚 so gung ho about statistics, there aren鈥檛 many statistics in here. Levitt claims that the numbers back up his research, but he rarely provides the data itself, which makes it difficult to tell how much he might be manipulating statistics to serve his own ends. It makes the book seem like it鈥檚 been dumbed down for the plebian masses, which will be very frustrating to any intelligent reader who wants to look at Levitt鈥檚 data themselves. Any reader who doesn鈥檛 feel like reading the numbers can do what most of us did in undergrad鈥攕kip the numbers sections. It鈥檚 just sloppy; I can鈥檛 imagine Levitt would do this in a formal economics paper.
The book also lacks much in the way of an unifying theme, a problem that is acknowledged within the text itself; that isn鈥檛 only sad, it鈥檚 sloppy. I doubt that a writer of Dubner鈥檚 skill and an economist of Levitt鈥檚 apparent genius (more on that below) are totally incapable of thinking of and describing some kind of unifying theme throughout this work. It just smacks of laziness, even more so when there鈥檚 a half-hearted 鈥渨ell, I guess you could say it鈥檚 this鈥︹€� sort of thing in the epilogue. Again, I have trouble imagining that Levitt would submit a paper that was this disjointed to a serious economic publication; why should the general public be treated less seriously?
The Ugly:
The self-aggrandizement. Oh, the self-aggrandizement.
Every chapter is preceded by excerpts from an article about Levitt, which all tell us what a brilliant and unconventional economist this man is. In the introduction, we鈥檙e told that he really wasn鈥檛 that interested in writing a book, unless he got to work with this wonderful journalist who had written an article about him earlier. The cover promises that we will be 鈥渄azzled鈥� by a 鈥渞ogue economist鈥� who explains 鈥渢he hidden side of everything.鈥�
For all of this talk of brilliance and dazzling explanations, the book doesn鈥檛 seem that brilliant. It seems like a transcript of some interesting dinner conversation with a smart guy, the sort that makes you go home and think, 鈥渉ey, this stuff is interesting, I ought to go pick up a book about it.鈥� Of course, the problem here is that you鈥檝e already picked up the book.
The fact that Levitt wasn鈥檛 that interested in writing a book in the first place is telling; this book feels like something written by a person who needed to get the work done, but really wasn鈥檛 engaged in what he was doing. Maybe he should have waited until he was a little more motivated.
November 5, 2019
I enjoyed Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner鈥檚 Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything; however, I鈥檓 not yet sure if it is simply entertaining or is in any way instructive. Levitt and Dubner explore a diverse range of subjects: from linking Roe v. Wade to violent crime, cheating by teachers and sumo wrestlers to an economic model of drug dealing.
I鈥檇 like to think that the stories told by the authors and the way they analyze conventional thinking would put me on a path to look past easy answers. Having completed Freakonomics, do I look at the world radically differently than I did before picking up the book? It is Interesting to look at subjects from a different angle. Positing that economics and specifically the field of study now dubbed freakonomics has nothing to do with morality is an intriguing concept as well, but deciding which stories to tell is necessarily selective. Indeed, the focus is interesting. So yes I enjoyed Freakonomics, but feel I should have more to say about it and the authors鈥� underlying premises than I do. 3.25 stars
I鈥檇 like to think that the stories told by the authors and the way they analyze conventional thinking would put me on a path to look past easy answers. Having completed Freakonomics, do I look at the world radically differently than I did before picking up the book? It is Interesting to look at subjects from a different angle. Positing that economics and specifically the field of study now dubbed freakonomics has nothing to do with morality is an intriguing concept as well, but deciding which stories to tell is necessarily selective. Indeed, the focus is interesting. So yes I enjoyed Freakonomics, but feel I should have more to say about it and the authors鈥� underlying premises than I do. 3.25 stars
November 13, 2016
Yeah, this isn't 'rogue economics'. This is sociology. It's not a new discipline. And this is really spurious sociology that wouldn't pass muster in academia, so Levitt published it for public consumption.
September 9, 2014
Well,this is the most terrible book I have ever seen,it was too terrible to read.It鈥檚 so terrible that I just want to burn it as fast as I can,and it cost me 58RMB.That was 58RMB,it was to expensive for me to afford.At first.I thought it was a good book,and I spend all my money on this book.And I was pretty annoyed about this I don鈥檛 have any other money for my breakfast,lunch,and even dinner.I haven鈥檛 drink juice for the whole year.Reading this is a waste of time,no one want to see this book again.It was just rubbish,and smelly book.It tells my nothing.I even want to sell this to the writer,and ask to return my money and some extra.It cost me too much time,and too much money on it.I prefer to see a movie instead!!!
December 29, 2007
The most interesting part of this book was the introduction. Sad, but true.
Four stars for presentation. The prose is nearly invisible, which I suppose in this genre is preferable to the alternative. And the content is mildly interesting, in a "Huh. Wouldja look at that" sort of way, as though you saw a duck waddling through your back yard with jam on its head.
But insofar as it's meant to be the vehicle for a larger framework for viewing the world, this book is old news. You mean shit's connected in weird, roundabout ways? Get out. Conventional wisdom is often wrong? Superficial analyses are lazy and innacurate? My head...is spinning.
Read some good poetry, you hipster fucks.
Four stars for presentation. The prose is nearly invisible, which I suppose in this genre is preferable to the alternative. And the content is mildly interesting, in a "Huh. Wouldja look at that" sort of way, as though you saw a duck waddling through your back yard with jam on its head.
But insofar as it's meant to be the vehicle for a larger framework for viewing the world, this book is old news. You mean shit's connected in weird, roundabout ways? Get out. Conventional wisdom is often wrong? Superficial analyses are lazy and innacurate? My head...is spinning.
Read some good poetry, you hipster fucks.
August 28, 2019
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Freakonomics), Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything is the debut non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner. It was published on April 12, 2005, by William Morrow. The book has been described as melding pop culture with economics. By late 2009, the book had sold over 4 million copies worldwide.
The book is a collection of articles written by Levitt, an expert who had gained a reputation for applying economic theory to diverse subjects not usually covered by "traditional" economists. In Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner argue that economics is, at root, the study of incentives. The book's chapters cover:
Chapter 1: Discovering cheating as applied to teachers and sumo wrestlers, as well as a typical Washington, D.C.鈥揳rea bagel business and its customers
Chapter 2: Information control as applied to the Ku Klux Klan and real-estate agents
Chapter 3: The economics of drug dealing, including the surprisingly low earnings and abject working conditions of crack cocaine dealers
Chapter 4: The role legalized abortion has played in reducing crime, contrasted with the policies and downfall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceau艧escu (Levitt explored this topic in an earlier paper entitled "The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime," written with John Donohue.)
Chapter 5: The negligible effects of good parenting on education
Chapter 6: The socioeconomic patterns of naming children (nominative determinism)
鬲丕乇蹖禺 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 禺賵丕賳卮: 乇賵夭 亘蹖爻鬲 賵 賴賮鬲賲 賲丕賴 丌诏賵爻鬲 爻丕賱 2008 賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
毓賳賵丕賳: 丕賯鬲氐丕丿 賳丕賴賳噩丕乇蹖鈥屬囏й� 倬賳賴丕賳 丕噩鬲賲丕毓蹖貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 丕爻鬲蹖賵賳 賱賵蹖鬲貙 丕爻鬲倬丕賳鈥� 丿丕亘賳乇貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 爻毓蹖丿 賲卮蹖乇蹖貨 鬲賴乇丕賳: 賳卮乇 賳蹖鈥忊€� 1386貨 丿乇 269 氐貨 卮丕亘讴: 9789643129507貨 趩丕倬 丿賵賲 1392貨 賲賵囟賵毓: 丕賯鬲氐丕丿 丕夭 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 - 噩賳亘賴 賴丕蹖 乇賵丕賳卮賳丕爻蹖 - 爻丿賴 21 賲
毓賳賵丕賳: 丕賯鬲氐丕丿貙 毓賱賲 丕賳诏蹖夭賴鈥屬囏ж� 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 丕爻鬲蹖賵賳 丿蹖鈥�. 賱賵蹖鬲貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 丕賲蹖乇丨爻蹖賳 鬲賵讴賱蹖貨 鬲賴乇丕賳: 爻亘夭丕賳鈥忊€� 1385貨 丿乇 197 氐貨 卮丕亘讴: 9789648249674貨 毓賳賵丕賳 乇賵蹖 噩賱丿: 丕賯鬲氐丕丿 毓賱賲 丕賳诏蹖夭賴鈥屬囏�: 賲賴丕乇鬲鈥屬囏й� 賱丕夭賲 亘乇丕蹖 讴卮賮 丕亘毓丕丿 倬賳賴丕賳 倬丿蹖丿賴鈥屬囏ж�
鈥┴ж� 芦賮乇蹖讴賵賳賵賲蹖讴爻禄 丿乇 亘丕乇賴 蹖 丕賯鬲氐丕丿貙 丕夭 丕賯鬲氐丕丿丿丕賳 丿丕賳卮诏丕賴 卮蹖讴丕诏賵 芦丕爻鬲蹖賵賳 賱賵蹖鬲禄 丕爻鬲貙 讴賴 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 亘丕乇 丿乇 乇賵夭 丿賵丕夭丿賴賲 賲丕賴 丌賵乇蹖賱 爻丕賱 2005 賲蹖賱丕丿蹖 賲賳鬲卮乇 卮丿. 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 鬲丕 倬丕蹖丕賳 爻丕賱 2009 賲蹖賱丕丿蹖貙 亘蹖卮 丕夭 趩賴丕乇 賲蹖賱蹖賵賳 賳爻禺賴 賮乇賵卮 丿丕卮鬲賴 丕爻鬲. 讴鬲丕亘 亘丕 毓賳賵丕賳 芦丕賯鬲氐丕丿 賳丕賴賳噩丕乇蹖鈥屬囏й� 丕噩鬲賲丕毓蹖禄 鬲賵爻胤 賳卮乇 賳蹖 賵 亘丕 鬲乇噩賲賴 蹖 噩賳丕亘 芦爻毓蹖丿 賲卮蹖乇蹖禄貙 賵 亘丕 毓賳賵丕賳: 芦丕賯鬲氐丕丿貙 毓賱賲 丕賳诏蹖夭賴鈥屬囏回� 亘丕 鬲乇噩賲賴 蹖 噩賳丕亘 芦丕賲蹖乇丨爻蹖賳 鬲賵讴賱蹖禄貙 賲賳鬲卮乇 卮丿賴 丕爻鬲. 讴鬲丕亘 趩賳丿蹖賳 賮氐賱 丿丕乇丿: 丿乇亘丕乇賴 丨賯賴 夭丿賳 丿乇 卮睾賱鈥屬囏й屰� 賲丕賳賳丿 賲毓賱賲蹖 賵 讴卮鬲蹖鈥屭屫必з� 爻賵賲賵貨 卮亘丕賴鬲鈥屬囏й� 讴賵讴賱賵爻鈥屭┵勜з嗏€� 賵 丕賮乇丕丿 賲毓丕賲賱丕鬲 賲賱讴蹖貨 爻蹖爻鬲賲 丕賯鬲氐丕丿蹖 讴丕乇鬲賱鈥屬囏й� 賲賵丕丿 賲禺丿乇貨 鬲丕孬蹖乇 賯丕賳賵賳蹖鈥屫池ж槽� 爻賯胤 噩賳蹖賳 丿乇 讴丕賴卮 噩乇丕蹖賲 趩賳丿蹖賳 爻丕賱 亘毓丿貨 賳賯卮 亘爻蹖丕乇 讴賲 鬲乇亘蹖鬲 禺賵亘 讴賵丿讴丕賳 鬲賵爻胤 賵丕賱丿蹖賳 丿乇 亘賴鬲乇 卮丿賳 丌賲賵夭卮 賵 倬乇賵乇卮卮丕賳貨 賵 丕賱诏賵賴丕蹖 賳丕賲诏匕丕乇蹖 讴賵丿讴丕賳 丿乇 蹖讴 噩丕賲毓賴. 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything is the debut non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner. It was published on April 12, 2005, by William Morrow. The book has been described as melding pop culture with economics. By late 2009, the book had sold over 4 million copies worldwide.
The book is a collection of articles written by Levitt, an expert who had gained a reputation for applying economic theory to diverse subjects not usually covered by "traditional" economists. In Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner argue that economics is, at root, the study of incentives. The book's chapters cover:
Chapter 1: Discovering cheating as applied to teachers and sumo wrestlers, as well as a typical Washington, D.C.鈥揳rea bagel business and its customers
Chapter 2: Information control as applied to the Ku Klux Klan and real-estate agents
Chapter 3: The economics of drug dealing, including the surprisingly low earnings and abject working conditions of crack cocaine dealers
Chapter 4: The role legalized abortion has played in reducing crime, contrasted with the policies and downfall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceau艧escu (Levitt explored this topic in an earlier paper entitled "The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime," written with John Donohue.)
Chapter 5: The negligible effects of good parenting on education
Chapter 6: The socioeconomic patterns of naming children (nominative determinism)
鬲丕乇蹖禺 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 禺賵丕賳卮: 乇賵夭 亘蹖爻鬲 賵 賴賮鬲賲 賲丕賴 丌诏賵爻鬲 爻丕賱 2008 賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
毓賳賵丕賳: 丕賯鬲氐丕丿 賳丕賴賳噩丕乇蹖鈥屬囏й� 倬賳賴丕賳 丕噩鬲賲丕毓蹖貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 丕爻鬲蹖賵賳 賱賵蹖鬲貙 丕爻鬲倬丕賳鈥� 丿丕亘賳乇貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 爻毓蹖丿 賲卮蹖乇蹖貨 鬲賴乇丕賳: 賳卮乇 賳蹖鈥忊€� 1386貨 丿乇 269 氐貨 卮丕亘讴: 9789643129507貨 趩丕倬 丿賵賲 1392貨 賲賵囟賵毓: 丕賯鬲氐丕丿 丕夭 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 - 噩賳亘賴 賴丕蹖 乇賵丕賳卮賳丕爻蹖 - 爻丿賴 21 賲
毓賳賵丕賳: 丕賯鬲氐丕丿貙 毓賱賲 丕賳诏蹖夭賴鈥屬囏ж� 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 丕爻鬲蹖賵賳 丿蹖鈥�. 賱賵蹖鬲貨 賲鬲乇噩賲: 丕賲蹖乇丨爻蹖賳 鬲賵讴賱蹖貨 鬲賴乇丕賳: 爻亘夭丕賳鈥忊€� 1385貨 丿乇 197 氐貨 卮丕亘讴: 9789648249674貨 毓賳賵丕賳 乇賵蹖 噩賱丿: 丕賯鬲氐丕丿 毓賱賲 丕賳诏蹖夭賴鈥屬囏�: 賲賴丕乇鬲鈥屬囏й� 賱丕夭賲 亘乇丕蹖 讴卮賮 丕亘毓丕丿 倬賳賴丕賳 倬丿蹖丿賴鈥屬囏ж�
鈥┴ж� 芦賮乇蹖讴賵賳賵賲蹖讴爻禄 丿乇 亘丕乇賴 蹖 丕賯鬲氐丕丿貙 丕夭 丕賯鬲氐丕丿丿丕賳 丿丕賳卮诏丕賴 卮蹖讴丕诏賵 芦丕爻鬲蹖賵賳 賱賵蹖鬲禄 丕爻鬲貙 讴賴 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 亘丕乇 丿乇 乇賵夭 丿賵丕夭丿賴賲 賲丕賴 丌賵乇蹖賱 爻丕賱 2005 賲蹖賱丕丿蹖 賲賳鬲卮乇 卮丿. 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 鬲丕 倬丕蹖丕賳 爻丕賱 2009 賲蹖賱丕丿蹖貙 亘蹖卮 丕夭 趩賴丕乇 賲蹖賱蹖賵賳 賳爻禺賴 賮乇賵卮 丿丕卮鬲賴 丕爻鬲. 讴鬲丕亘 亘丕 毓賳賵丕賳 芦丕賯鬲氐丕丿 賳丕賴賳噩丕乇蹖鈥屬囏й� 丕噩鬲賲丕毓蹖禄 鬲賵爻胤 賳卮乇 賳蹖 賵 亘丕 鬲乇噩賲賴 蹖 噩賳丕亘 芦爻毓蹖丿 賲卮蹖乇蹖禄貙 賵 亘丕 毓賳賵丕賳: 芦丕賯鬲氐丕丿貙 毓賱賲 丕賳诏蹖夭賴鈥屬囏回� 亘丕 鬲乇噩賲賴 蹖 噩賳丕亘 芦丕賲蹖乇丨爻蹖賳 鬲賵讴賱蹖禄貙 賲賳鬲卮乇 卮丿賴 丕爻鬲. 讴鬲丕亘 趩賳丿蹖賳 賮氐賱 丿丕乇丿: 丿乇亘丕乇賴 丨賯賴 夭丿賳 丿乇 卮睾賱鈥屬囏й屰� 賲丕賳賳丿 賲毓賱賲蹖 賵 讴卮鬲蹖鈥屭屫必з� 爻賵賲賵貨 卮亘丕賴鬲鈥屬囏й� 讴賵讴賱賵爻鈥屭┵勜з嗏€� 賵 丕賮乇丕丿 賲毓丕賲賱丕鬲 賲賱讴蹖貨 爻蹖爻鬲賲 丕賯鬲氐丕丿蹖 讴丕乇鬲賱鈥屬囏й� 賲賵丕丿 賲禺丿乇貨 鬲丕孬蹖乇 賯丕賳賵賳蹖鈥屫池ж槽� 爻賯胤 噩賳蹖賳 丿乇 讴丕賴卮 噩乇丕蹖賲 趩賳丿蹖賳 爻丕賱 亘毓丿貨 賳賯卮 亘爻蹖丕乇 讴賲 鬲乇亘蹖鬲 禺賵亘 讴賵丿讴丕賳 鬲賵爻胤 賵丕賱丿蹖賳 丿乇 亘賴鬲乇 卮丿賳 丌賲賵夭卮 賵 倬乇賵乇卮卮丕賳貨 賵 丕賱诏賵賴丕蹖 賳丕賲诏匕丕乇蹖 讴賵丿讴丕賳 丿乇 蹖讴 噩丕賲毓賴. 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
September 14, 2007
Levitt makes the lofty claim that economics is not swayed by moral sensibilities - it's a pure numbers game of course! However, not knowing much about him beyond his affiliation with the University of Chicago and what was written in the book, I can surmise that he is conservative, or at least what today would be inappropriately labeled "moderate." Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily...or at least I don't view it that way. Does it affect his conclusions? Absolutely. Levitt assumes his assertion that Roe v. Wade is responsible for the drop in crime experienced in the 1990s is the most controversial in the book, but I was not bothered by that conclusion at all. What did raise my ire a bit was his statement that "Minorities commit more crimes." Perhaps the pure numbers seem to show so, but upon closer examination and more careful thought, one might conclude that minorities are simply arrested and convicted more often. In many cases, Levitt does delve into the deeper "behind the scenes" reasons for why things happen, but in this glaring example, he delves no further than to admit that poverty might have a link to crime commission, and with more minorities in poverty more of them commit crimes. Might it also have a link to crime conviction? The white suburban kid who can afford a long and arduous defense, or whose father knows someone who can get the kid out of a jam, has a much better chance of having his case dismissed than a poor minority kid assigned a public defender (not to say that public defenders don't do good work - in fact many of them are some of the most amazing lawyers out there). Suffice to say the system is stacked against people in poverty and minorities, and Levitt fails to fully acknowledge this in his discussion of what causes and helps prevent crime. I wasn't so much angry as I was disappointed. When one of the brightest minds in our country can't see beyond his own prejudices, where is the hope for the rest of us? Levitt might be a genius, but he is woefully culturally incompetent.
May 28, 2019
The book is totally different than ordinary books on this topic. It will bring out those facts that we don't want to eve look or discuss. It has provided many examples with those are unbelievable. It has used to comapre sumo wrestlers and school teachers. IT goona freak you all the time.
May the style of the wrtitng book is different but he delivers the information that is valuable to all. It will change the way you think about the modern world.
May the style of the wrtitng book is different but he delivers the information that is valuable to all. It will change the way you think about the modern world.
September 15, 2007
I am indebted to airport bookstores. And I am thus indebted to such an extent, that I can confess to arriving early for any flight departing from an airport with a bookstore for the sole purpose of securing a few additional minutes to browse books. If it were not for the practicalities of travelling, I would probably have bought this book much sooner than I did for I had been securing extra minutes in airport bookstores just to read through another chapter long before I actually bought it.
You see, my travels are laden with a heavy debate: shall I pack my extra suitcase with books or groceries? I resolve this by alternating. For one trip to the Outside, a spare duffel bag will be dedicated to books and I will shun all opportunities to visit grocery stores just to preserve that determination. On the next visit, I will carry a spare cooler (rather than duffel bag) and splurge on leg of lamb and cheeses free of artificial coloring. The ultimate effect of this system, however, is a backlog in possessing the books I'd like to read.
Finally, however, the fates aligned. I was travelling to Iowa on what I expected to be a gloriously grocery-focused trip. But my cooler broke as I was carrying it to the truck that we would drive to our local airport. There wasn't time to fix it. I was sad, of course, as I had been anticipating all the pork I was going to return with from Iowa. But I consoled myself with all those Iowa cookbooks I could now carry, and resolved not to prolong any lamentations over the cooler. And, oh, did I find myself lugging around a heavy library - such hours did I spend in Powells (there was a 1 week layover in Oregon) and Iowa City's bookstores. The day before we left Iowa, Nate told me about how much he enjoyed this book. His description renewed my interest, and I committed myself to buying a copy before we left. But, alas, we ran out of time. We didn't make it to a bookstore. It was sadder than the last-minute loss of the cooler. So when we arrived in Chicago, and had a few minutes to wait for the connecting flight to Alaska, and our gate was right next to a book kiosk, and I was pretty sure there was just enough room in my carry-on to squeeze in one more book - it was this book that I grabbed.
I raced through it. Loving each chapter. I really can't recommend it enough. A fun read, for those who like to be entertained by books. Informative too, for those that like to read for knowledge, thought, and/or discourse. But what elevates it to favorite is that it alters perception and challenges assumptions. For what it's worth, I have no regrets that I carried this book rather than Iowa pork.....and I can think of no finer testament to a good book. Then again, most of my entertainment these days revolves around pickling turnips. So if turnips aren't your thing, feel free to take my recommendation with a grain of salt....but you should still read this book.
You see, my travels are laden with a heavy debate: shall I pack my extra suitcase with books or groceries? I resolve this by alternating. For one trip to the Outside, a spare duffel bag will be dedicated to books and I will shun all opportunities to visit grocery stores just to preserve that determination. On the next visit, I will carry a spare cooler (rather than duffel bag) and splurge on leg of lamb and cheeses free of artificial coloring. The ultimate effect of this system, however, is a backlog in possessing the books I'd like to read.
Finally, however, the fates aligned. I was travelling to Iowa on what I expected to be a gloriously grocery-focused trip. But my cooler broke as I was carrying it to the truck that we would drive to our local airport. There wasn't time to fix it. I was sad, of course, as I had been anticipating all the pork I was going to return with from Iowa. But I consoled myself with all those Iowa cookbooks I could now carry, and resolved not to prolong any lamentations over the cooler. And, oh, did I find myself lugging around a heavy library - such hours did I spend in Powells (there was a 1 week layover in Oregon) and Iowa City's bookstores. The day before we left Iowa, Nate told me about how much he enjoyed this book. His description renewed my interest, and I committed myself to buying a copy before we left. But, alas, we ran out of time. We didn't make it to a bookstore. It was sadder than the last-minute loss of the cooler. So when we arrived in Chicago, and had a few minutes to wait for the connecting flight to Alaska, and our gate was right next to a book kiosk, and I was pretty sure there was just enough room in my carry-on to squeeze in one more book - it was this book that I grabbed.
I raced through it. Loving each chapter. I really can't recommend it enough. A fun read, for those who like to be entertained by books. Informative too, for those that like to read for knowledge, thought, and/or discourse. But what elevates it to favorite is that it alters perception and challenges assumptions. For what it's worth, I have no regrets that I carried this book rather than Iowa pork.....and I can think of no finer testament to a good book. Then again, most of my entertainment these days revolves around pickling turnips. So if turnips aren't your thing, feel free to take my recommendation with a grain of salt....but you should still read this book.
March 24, 2015
Everything I hate about popular science - alternating between over-simplified, patronising, naive or simply annoying, but worst of all, blatantly refusing to take account of the political and social implications of its findings, and being proud of it.
May 8, 2010
I assumed Freakonomics would be a book that used statistics to debunk various societal hysterias and fearmongering in a semi-humorous way. I quickly realized what I was in for when early in the book when the authors gave their background as Harvard Jews and profiled a guy that infiltrated the KKK for the ADL. The story sounds at least partially made up.
It then jumped into predictable white guilt inducing trash and goes into mental contortions using "data" and sociological explanations for black criminality and low IQ scores. The writers of this book are also obsessively pro-Abortion. The only surprise was they used statistics to show you are much more likely to die from an automobile or a swimming pool than a gun. This book would probably appeal to upper middle class liberals who like to consider themselves clever and politically astute from their isolated armchairs. For me Freakonomics was a big load of garbage.
It then jumped into predictable white guilt inducing trash and goes into mental contortions using "data" and sociological explanations for black criminality and low IQ scores. The writers of this book are also obsessively pro-Abortion. The only surprise was they used statistics to show you are much more likely to die from an automobile or a swimming pool than a gun. This book would probably appeal to upper middle class liberals who like to consider themselves clever and politically astute from their isolated armchairs. For me Freakonomics was a big load of garbage.
June 22, 2023
As the tagline goes, "the hidden side of everything", this book explores the mundane yet devious plots in our everyday lives. It makes random reflections on random subjects, and in turn, upends conventional wisdom rather than reinforcing them. The book offers profound insights on informational advantage, that is enjoyed by people from (nearly) all walks of life.
A simple unasked question, and there you go! This is where the exploration begins and it is an efficacious way to demolish the widespread fallacies. All in all, this book addresses that things are not always what they seem and there lies something under the surface, which, more often than not, does not come to limelight.
It is only when we do not embrace faulty causes at the urging of the experts in which they have a vested interest, and deep dive into the rudimentary aspects of a subject, that its veracity would be divulged.
A simple unasked question, and there you go! This is where the exploration begins and it is an efficacious way to demolish the widespread fallacies. All in all, this book addresses that things are not always what they seem and there lies something under the surface, which, more often than not, does not come to limelight.
It is only when we do not embrace faulty causes at the urging of the experts in which they have a vested interest, and deep dive into the rudimentary aspects of a subject, that its veracity would be divulged.
December 22, 2014
The "experts are evil, have agendas, will trick you" talk got old real fast, especially when points are later being backed up with experts research. There's not enough discussion on the data itself, no distinction between quantitative and qualitative, and not enough discussion on the many flaws of data and how we analyze it. Pretty interesting how much he dislikes criminologists but then (if I remember correctly), only mentions the same one or two names over and over when giving examples of criminologists that had agendas/tricked the public. Also the fact that the entire book, and the issues, feels very simplified. Actually the author puts it best himself:
"The typical parenting expert, like experts in other fields, is prone to sound exceedingly sure of himself. An expert doesn鈥檛 so much argue the various sides of an issue, as plant his flag firmly on one side. That鈥檚 because an expert who鈥檚 argument reeks of restraint or nuance often doesn鈥檛 get much attention. An expert must be bold if he hopes to alchemise (?) his homespun theory into conventional wisdom."
This is often how I perceived the book to be written, very simplified, without enough nuance or room for possible explanations - only one right answer. I didn't like how the book was written, how the topics where dealt with, and had a hard time taking anything seriously after all of the self-admiration and the repeated "all experts have agendas (except for us)" talk in every chapter.
"The typical parenting expert, like experts in other fields, is prone to sound exceedingly sure of himself. An expert doesn鈥檛 so much argue the various sides of an issue, as plant his flag firmly on one side. That鈥檚 because an expert who鈥檚 argument reeks of restraint or nuance often doesn鈥檛 get much attention. An expert must be bold if he hopes to alchemise (?) his homespun theory into conventional wisdom."
This is often how I perceived the book to be written, very simplified, without enough nuance or room for possible explanations - only one right answer. I didn't like how the book was written, how the topics where dealt with, and had a hard time taking anything seriously after all of the self-admiration and the repeated "all experts have agendas (except for us)" talk in every chapter.
March 20, 2008
This is a very American book. Not just because all of the examples in it are set in the US, but also the hype about it is terribly American too. It has the tone of self congratulation that has sold a million self-help books. Which is a pity, as what it has to say is terribly interesting and amusing.
The stuff at the end about how the name you are born with affects your life is very interesting. Also the idea, that is clearly true, but I'd never thought of it before, that people give their daughters crazier names than their sons.
The point of this book is to say that sometimes there are very interesting correlations between things that seem quite disparate. The big one (and I haven't checked, but I assume this one didn't go down terribly well with the religious right in America) was the idea that the drop in violent crime in the US was due to the drop in violent criminals and this was due to there being less people brought up in abject poverty which is due to people being able to have access to abortion and not bringing unwanted children into the world.
The comparisons between drug dealers and McDonalds as a corporate structure is now received wisdom - Obama quotes this in his book.
Overall this is a great little read and quite fun - but really, I can't think of a single book that was improved by self-congratulation.
The stuff at the end about how the name you are born with affects your life is very interesting. Also the idea, that is clearly true, but I'd never thought of it before, that people give their daughters crazier names than their sons.
The point of this book is to say that sometimes there are very interesting correlations between things that seem quite disparate. The big one (and I haven't checked, but I assume this one didn't go down terribly well with the religious right in America) was the idea that the drop in violent crime in the US was due to the drop in violent criminals and this was due to there being less people brought up in abject poverty which is due to people being able to have access to abortion and not bringing unwanted children into the world.
The comparisons between drug dealers and McDonalds as a corporate structure is now received wisdom - Obama quotes this in his book.
Overall this is a great little read and quite fun - but really, I can't think of a single book that was improved by self-congratulation.
July 23, 2015
Verbose, repetitive, contradictory: a book of 200-pages that could be condensed to 3-5 pages.
Titles that vary from scintillating to insulting, yet are followed by a chapter that doesn't support the title bar.
Anecdotal stories, mistaken for data or hypothesis. Interpretations and hypotheses are drawn from data that could still be interpreted in multiple ways.
The book claims that it will link the unexpected, but frankly, links the obvious, with many "well duh" moments.
Needless generations of lists that help bulk out the book, but provide little further benefit for study.
Each chapter begins with unnecessary aggrandisement of the author for the statistician, that jars the flow of the book.
Overall, a good demonstration of why "social sciences" are in no way close to being "science", and instead should be termed social philosophy.
Titles that vary from scintillating to insulting, yet are followed by a chapter that doesn't support the title bar.
Anecdotal stories, mistaken for data or hypothesis. Interpretations and hypotheses are drawn from data that could still be interpreted in multiple ways.
The book claims that it will link the unexpected, but frankly, links the obvious, with many "well duh" moments.
Needless generations of lists that help bulk out the book, but provide little further benefit for study.
Each chapter begins with unnecessary aggrandisement of the author for the statistician, that jars the flow of the book.
Overall, a good demonstration of why "social sciences" are in no way close to being "science", and instead should be termed social philosophy.
July 29, 2013
I found this book to be really fascinating. Chapter 3- Why do drug dealers still live with their moms, was very illuminating. I like the questions they posed and the connections they came up with. I was quite surprised about the American school system, especially the fact that teachers often used cheating methods to make sure their students scored well in standardized tests.The section about how given names may influence one's future was quite gloomy in some ways, especially as there's evidence that we are judged based on our names, not on our abilities. All in all, a lot of great information.
September 22, 2020
Levitt and Dubner's ground breaking look at the world through the eyes of collated data that tells a story in itself, like their shocking discovery of what caused a huge drop in crime in America in the 1990s. Reading this a decade on I still find this so absorbing and interesting which is just as much as a result of their writing style as their great content.
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Just remember assume nothing... question everything! 8 out of 12.
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Just remember assume nothing... question everything! 8 out of 12.
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