Freakonomics by Levitt and Dunber

Ranked #19,178 in Business & Work, #364,999 overall

Why I Love This Book...

You could easily dismiss Freakonomics as just another interesting but unimportant or worse yet unremarkable book filled with pop-economic observations by a media-popular economist and writer with little more to offer than a pedigreed PhD and an irresistible writer's voice.

A quick review of the table of contents reveals a treatment of banal subjects ranging from cheating teachers and Sumo wrestlers to mama's boy drug dealers and baby names.

"Light-weight stuff this is", you might be thinking; not worth serious consideration.

You could easily dismiss this work as little more than pool-side fare but you would be wrong.

The foundation of Freakonomics' value lies in how it demonstrates five fundamental ideas.

-         Incentives are the cornerstone of modern life.

-         Conventional Wisdom is often wrong.

-         Dramatic effects often have distant, even subtle causes.

-         Experts use their informational advantage to serve their own advantage.

-         Knowing what to measures and how to measure it makes a complicated world less so.

By applying the tools of Economics to some-what pointless questions, Freakonomics provides a new way of viewing the world.  It is important because it demonstrates a different way to think about questions that are not easy to answer.

In today's world, where the easy answers are commodity answers, available to anyone, being able to think about and answer difficult questions in a new way is the difference between success and failure.  Freakonomics is important because it provides a glimpse into this reality.  Besides, it is a wonderful read from a set of intelligent writers with an irresistible voice.

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Freakonimics at the New York Times

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Freakonomics at the NY Times
Levitt and Dubner share their latest thoughts at the New York Times.

Blog Posts from Google

Can you believe it? People are blogging about Freakonomics.

Predict a quake & know the next US prez: Claims US professor
Well, don't be surprised as this is not a chapter of the book Freakonomics, but in fact a method...
Klan Freakonomics: KKK Aligns With Obama On Pocketbook Issues? (Photos/Story ...
Call it the freakonomics of white identity groups: in tough economic times more people turn to the Klan....
Why early retirement may not be good for your health
Freakonomics' Stephen Dubner talks about studies that show that early retirement actually has a considerable...
Freakonomics Author Dubner to Keynote NAFCU's 45th Annual
WASHINGTON -- Freakonomics author Stephen Dubner will provide credit unions with the keys to unlocking...

Everyone Loves A Little Feedback

If you don't like the review, at least say why...

  • John_W_McKenna Jan 14, 2008 @ 1:20 pm | delete
    Jeremy
    Great idea, about adding the blog feed. I added it up there at the top.
    Take care...
    JWM
  • DriveChannel Jan 9, 2008 @ 2:47 pm | delete
    John - Great lens...I'm also a regular reader of Levitt and Dunber's Freakonomic blog at the NY Times (http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/). Adding the RSS feed to this lens would be a killer addition.

    Jeemy
  • Adrie Nov 24, 2007 @ 6:10 am | delete
    Hi
    I like your lens, good info.
    Did you know you can use self hypnosis to increase your business success? You can read about it in my Lens Self Help Hypnosis
    Adrie Rackers
  • John_W_McKenna Feb 18, 2007 @ 3:20 pm | delete
    See, it works... Now it's your turn.

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John_W_McKenna

I have spent the last 21 years learing how to fail.  While surviving this ordeal, I have become somewhat of an expert in operational measurement &... more »

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