Freakonomics
I feel like I'm a bit late to the party on this one, as a lot of other people have already reviewed it, but... I just finished reading Freakonomics (actually, I listened to the audio version), and I thought I'd write a few words about it...
In short, this Freakonomics details a variety of studies in which economist Steven Levitt applied economic principles in an attempt to shed light on "the hidden side of everything." I know what you're thinking... Economics? Yuck! But this is actually a rather entertaining book that takes a contrarian look at crime, sumo wrestling, the KKK, real estate agents, parenting, gun safety, the No Child Left Behind Act, and more.
The basic premise of the book is that if you want to understand what's really going on in any particular situation, you need to consider the incentives. While it felt a bit dumbed down, and didn't contain a whole lot of truly useful financial information, I really enjoyed reading (err, listening to) it. It's an entertaining book that encourages you to think outside the box, and it really appealed to the skeptic in me. If you're looking for an entertaining read (or listen) I suggest that you check out
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"Freakonomics" was first published at fivecentnickel.com
I received an advance copy of Dave Barry's Money Secrets awhile back, and I've been planning on writing a review of it ever since. Well, here we are... Almost six weeks after the official release date, and I'm finally getting around to it. So... I'm ... Read
They have received a lot of criticism for the analytical methods, specifically using data selectively and passing off speculation as fact.
Do Levitt's conclusion seem reasonable to you?
- baby seats are dangerous
- the easier it is to vote the fewer people vote
- and of course the abortion significanly reduces crime
So read the book as an interesting thought experiment... not as fact.
