Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.) Review
I found the book to be incredibly entertaining, in fact, I was so immersed in it that I almost missed an international flight. Some arguments were more convincing than others; I wish Levitt and Dubner were more humble in stating the conclusions, or at least surmising the possible existence of other explanations however unlikely they might seem.
Statisticians use a "so called" p-value - in layman's terms: "what is the probability that our conclusion is wrong?" I wish Levitt and Dubner gave at least an overview of this rudimentary concept instead of redundant reiterations of "numbers don't lie."
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.) Feature
- ISBN13: 9780060731335
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Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.) Overview
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool?
What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?
How much do parents really matter?
These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He studies the riddles of everyday life—from cheating and crime to parenting and sports—and reaches conclusions that turn conventional wisdom on its head. Freakonomics is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They set out to explore the inner workings of a crack gang, the truth about real estate agents, the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, and much more. Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, they show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives—how people get what they want or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing.
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.) Specifications
Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage. And in a section that may alarm or relieve worried parents, Levitt argues that parenting methods don't really matter much and that a backyard swimming pool is much more dangerous than a gun. These enlightening chapters are separated by effusive passages from Dubner's 2003 profile of Levitt in The New York Times Magazine, which led to the book being written. In a book filled with bold logic, such back-patting veers Freakonomics, however briefly, away from what Levitt actually has to say. Although maybe there's a good economic reason for that too, and we're just not getting it yet. --John Moe
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Customer Reviews
Freadonomics - Page edges of book - TerryLynne -
I am extremely disappointed with the appearance of this book. The edges of most of the pages look as if they were cut with dull scissors. It was bought for a gift and I'm ashamed to give it.
A new way to look at the world - kjp -
Freakanomics is a great book to help you understand how the world really works. It allows you to see things from a different perspective.
Boring, pointless, impratical - Drexel -
I got this book hoping to learn things about economics that were interesting and helpful. Instead I got to learn about drug dealing and the KKK. Go read NAKED ECONOMY by Wheelan instead, MUCH better than this.
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