I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, and have just finished Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. I’d heard some buzz about it, and knew that it had been a bestseller not too long ago. I’ve enjoyed books by author Malcolm Gladwell (I have picked up his most recent book Outliers recently, I’ll let you know what I think later), and his blurb is prominent on the front of this book. However, with that being said, Freakonomics wasn’t exactly what I had expected.
I can’t say exactly what it was that I did expect, but this book wasn’t that. It was, however, a quick read and chocked full of interesting data and anecdotes. Also, there was a lot of praise for author Stephen Levitt (something that got a little old by the end of the book). Anyway, so here’s the premise of the book: Economist Stephen Levitt (with the help of writer Stephen Dubner) studies a number of questions (many of which seem a bit random) which interest him. The questions involve issues such as catching cheaters on standardized tests, the information gap between insiders and outsiders (i.e., in the real estate business, or the Ku Klux Klan), the business model of crack dealers, the role of abortion in the drop in the crime rate, the effects of parenting on education, and the economics of naming children. The key point of the book is that the authors want readers to learn to identify and question the conventional wisdom.
It was an interesting read. I enjoyed it, and would probably read it again. Readers may find parts of the book to be of great value, while questioning the value of other parts. Still, the whole book is insightful and it is important to learn to question (and often to buck) the conventional wisdom. It’s also helpful to see economic tools applied in unorthodox manners. Readers may learn that common threads are shared by many seemingly dissimilar areas of life. Notable examples are: standardized testing and Sumo wrestling, drug dealers and McDonalds, or even the KKK and real estate agents. Maybe now you’ll want to read the book, if only to find out what those similarities may be.
On the whole it was a good read, and I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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January 30, 2009 at 12:12 am
littleriver
What’s “unconventional” about proposing that high abortion rates reduce crime rates.
I mean that’s the mantra these days. The core ideology of environmentalism is that humans are evil and must be exterminated. Abortion is just a good start in regard to that ultimate objective.
January 30, 2009 at 9:22 am
mattknight
Hi littleriver,
Thanks for stopping by my blog. You raise a good point, there is nothing new about the idea that abortion can lower crime rates. In fact, this is part of the basis for eugenics. Of course, I am not a proponent of abortion or of eugenics.
The unconventional part comes when the author discusses the 1990s drop in the nation’s crime rate (when conventional wisdom said it would skyrocket). As analysts try to determine the cause(s) of the drop, Levitt suggests that the one thing that may have impacted the crime rate more than others (like more police, etc) is the fact that so many people (many of which might have become criminals) were never born. It’s really a pretty spooky thought.
Anyway, I agree with your assessment of radical environmentalism. Check out the book if your interest is piqued.