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Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (平装)
by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
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Non-fiction, Business |
| Market price: ¥ 108.00
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¥ 98.00
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Freaky, fun and thought-provoking, this wonderfully popular non-fiction book is full of weird insights and surprising conclusions. |
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AllReviews |
  1 2 3   | Total 3 pages 23 items |
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M. Lange (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
Freakonomics is a nice companion to The Tipping Point, the breakthrough book by Malcolm Gladwell. Freakonomics invites the reader to simply look at the data in different settings to determine patterns, algorithms, trends, that are revealed by applying the tools of economics to those settings. What one will see is how "conventional wisdom" can often be utterly wrong, and how counterintuitive insights can supplant them by honest appraisal of facts seen in context. One may not agree with the conclusions drawn by Steven Levitt, but it would be difficult to challenge them if one is open about objective views of evidence without preconceptions and the filters of ideology.
I think the approach of Freakonomics is truly valuable, because it shows how analytical tools of an established social science like economics can lead to breakthroughs in how we view and tackle social problems. It seems to be Levitt's contention that economics has for too long been restricted to standard questions like monetary trends, fiscal matters, and the like. When viewed in a wider sense, as a set of tools applicable in different contexts to determine how people get what the want, and how they arrive at their views, it is far more useful to society.
I applaud those, like Steven Levitt, who approach problems in new ways, and get people thinking about their own assumptions, ideological blinders and filters, and whether they really want to see the layers beneath superficial explanations that are so often championed by mainstream media, the educational process, and government sources.
This book is relatively short, barely over 200 pages, and is easy to read. Stephen Dubner, Levitt's co-author, has done a terrific job of articulating some difficult concepts, and smoothly transitioning from one topic to the next.
I highly recommend Freakonomics. |
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Elly Winstead (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
Levitt's book on what he likes to term "Freakonomics" is undeniably an interesting read and one will pick up quite a few tidbits to share later on at a party. Aside from that? Meh.
I think it is about time that someone published a book of this topic. I know that in statistical sciences you are not to ever use the world "prove" but to put it simple: I am very glad that there is now a common and accessible book to prove some things that were common sense all alone. The average person knows very little about economics and sociology, but everyone likes to pretend they do and debate their uneducated opinion to the death. This is what makes this book so wonderful.
For example? I have always refused to go by my first name, Brandy, because I always held the theory that it was a name common in low income/low education households and that I would not be taken as seriously in the corporate and publishing world. Finally someone actually did the research and there is my name spelled three different ways in the top 20 names that signify low education households. So now when people ask why I use Eleanora? I point them straight towards this book.
Many times I found myself with a desire to know more about the processes that Levitt used to come to the conclusions he makes in this book. With the statistical science background that I have I am wary to believe anything that doesn't give me the exactly formula and source because if there is anything easy to skew in your favor, it would be numbers. There was also the feel that Levitt was trying to fill pages, at times I would realize I was reading the same thing repeatedly. The subject matter of each chapter is incredibly interesting but something that could have been laid out in a two page article (and possibly was for all my knowledge). However, a two page article would not yield nearly as much profit.
This book is an entertaining read for those who are not too [...] on statistical methods and are just interested in some interesting facts to share with others. It makes a wonderful conversation piece and has things you could even share with your 95 year-old grandmother. The book might be worth the buy if you want it as a coffee table piece, for anything else go support your local library. |
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B. Phillips (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
This book uses the tools of applied microeconomics to stand some conventional "wisdom" about crime, parenting, and more on its head. The authors balance the technical aspects of their analyses with an irrepressible joy of discovery and sense of fun. And while the average reader is not going to become an applied microeconomist by reading this book, the book does give the reader a crucial insight to apply to everyday life: when dealing with others, ask yourself "What's their incentive? Is it the incentive I think it is? Does it align with my incentive, or conflict?" For example, you might think a real estate agent selling your house has exactly the same incentive you, the owner, do - namely, to sell your house at the highest possible price. Right? Wrong. Read the book.
My only criticism is that the book was way too short (I read it in two sittings). Hopefully, the authors write a sequel, spanning more topics. |
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Joon Yee Chan (MSL quote), Singapore
<2006-12-26 00:00>
I was totally shocked when I read the first few pages of this book. Levitt proposes that crime rate in the US fell because of abortion. Almost anybody reading it would call the author all kinds of names, but if you could open your mind and follow his reasoning (Chapter 4, Where Have All the Criminals Gone?), you'll find his theory not only highly plausible, but even statistically provable.
By analyzing Sumo wrestling results, Levitt exposes the cheating that goes on inside. Some wrestlers feign defeat to help others, so that they in turn will get help when they need it. Is Sumo wrestling really a competition to find the best wrestler? Apparently not.
Levitt also proposes that the power in the Ku Klux Klan lies in its secrecy. Once its passwords are busted, the organization goes into decline. The same happens when people abuse information while acting as experts.
One very interesting chapter is a detailed analysis of drug dealing gangs based on an undercover report by Sudhir Venkatesh. We learn that apart from the top brass, drug dealers do not earn as much as what we might imagine.
The final chapters have to do with the related topics of parenting and naming. What sort of parenting, what sort of neighborhood and how does a person's name affect how far he can go in life? As with the rest of the book, Levitt challenges conventional "wisdom" and explains everything in a logical, intelligent way. This is an excellent book for logical thinking people who dare to call a spade a spade.
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Josh Moffit (MSl quote) , Philippines
<2006-12-26 00:00>
The purpose of this economics book is not necessarily the economic lessons that can be learned from it, but the entertainment value. The book is obviously meant to be more of a popular culture book than a heavy economics book. While some of the subjects are serious (racism, abortion, education, parenting and crime), the feel of the book is very lighthearted. Even the introduction to the book mentions that the young author of this book is obviously brilliant, but has no unifying theme. That is, he has no real overarching points to make about economics; he is just a really smart economist who wants to figure out why things are the way they are. I found the entire book very entertaining in a strange, nerdy sort of a way.
Just a quick note on the chapter about abortion; I find it hard to argue with the logic behind Levitt's conclusions on this issue. The types of people who get abortions are the types of parents who are deadbeats. If deadbeats' parents never have children (read that again), there will be less deadbeats in the world. Irresponsibility, drug addiction, selfishness and a total lack of respect for human life are often the characteristics of those seeking abortions. Would you want a parent with those characteristics? By allowing these `deadbeats' to have abortions, this is halting (or slowing anyway) the reproduction of future deadbeats. So, how does this fact apply to the legalization of abortion? Should this be a proof for the legalization of abortion? Levitt claims in the book that this is not his purpose, and I do not believe that the facts presented by Levitt are grounds for making abortion illegal. The end doesn't always justify the means. Let me give an example: if the government decided tomorrow that because of the overcrowding of prisons, they were just going to execute everyone currently housed in federal prisons. This would undoubtedly solve the problem of prison overcrowding, and it would probably also help the future overall crime rate, but it would be WRONG. This word, wrong, is not a very popular word in our Western culture today (unless it is being used to describe Christianity) but it is nonetheless important. When it comes to the abortion issue, ending the lives of unborn babies do solve many problems- it keeps the child from entering a life under a mother who is probably a deadbeat (that is Levitt's logic, not only mine), and it makes the deadbeat mother's life much more comfortable, and as Levitt proves, it lowers the crime rate. But do these solved problems justify the deaths of these unborn babies? I would argue, no. People have many reasons to commit murder, some of them good, but the end rarely justifies the means.
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Valeri (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
Freakonomics is a great book for everyone who wants and needs to keep their mind open to new ways of looking at the world and the huge number of events and factors happening around the clock in it. It reveals that sometimes small and neglected events and decisions can and have major impact on personal and even national level. My boyfriend and I like to read bestsellers such as Freakonomics, which have the potential to change your life and viewpoint for better. This is rare and invaluable. In addition, it is written by skillful authors who know how to keep your attention from the beginning till the end. It is a light and interesting read. This is one of the books, which is definitely worth reading and that's why we recommend it. |
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Brandon Michael (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
Freakonomics is broad spectrum, entertaining and more than anything else thought provoking. The questions of the authors may seem unusual at first but they reveal that at first sight disconnected events from people's and country's life may be closely related. I believe that every person who gives it a chance will be able to open their mind to a whole new way of looking at the world. You may start seeing how far reaching could be common things from our daily life. I experienced several times an "aha effect". I think that we need such groundbreaking authors who are not afraid to state the results from their extensive research regardless of possible criticism. I prefer to get every possible advantage from such books instead of to be narrow minded and pretend that I know and understand everything. This is one of the few books that is really better to have and I recommend it. |
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Jean Pouliot (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
What can you say about a book that compares the inner workings of the crack gangs to MacDonald's? That suggests a link between abortion rates and crime rates? That demonstrates when and how cheating occurs in Japanese sumo wrestling and on American scholastic performance tests?
That it is wonderfully brilliant!
Freakonomics is fascinating and readable. It highlights the work of "rogue" economist Steven Leavitt whose unorthodox approach has cracked many seemingly impon)derable riddles of American life. How were black Americans kept from asserting their political rights even though lynching rates fell dramatically between 1900 and 1960? What is the tie, if any, between having an ethnic name and success in life? How did an heir to the Stetson hat fortune use radio to weaken the KKK? When a correlation is found between two events, how do we tell whether A caused B, A caused A, or both are caused by outside event C?
Steven Leavitt likes to ponder these questions, and has the data, the tools and the smarts to ask the right questions and get the right answers. The book's reach is breathtaking, and shows connections between seemingly unrelated areas of life. Crack dealers, prospective baseball stars and aspiring actors are all engaged in a type of economic enterprise known as the "tournament," I which only the very best are rewarded. Realtors, insurance salesmen and the KKK take advantage of "information asymmetry" to strengthen their own hand.
It's Leavitt's amazing ability to both relate disparate activities and to explain them in lay terms that makes the book so appealing. For those who worry about such things, the book is not an ideological attempt to use statistics to push a political agenda. There is much to love and much to irritate everyone. Overprotecting parents, overspending politicians and minority haters will not appreciate his conclusions. But if you are prepared to take a hard look at your assumptions and seek the truth that is hidden in mountains of data, this is a fascinating book. I have not been able to stop talking about it. |
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An American reader(MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
There is a saying attributed to Mark Twain that there are three types of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics. It makes a good humorous quote, but it's not really accurate. Numbers don't lie; it's the way they're interpreted that distorts the truth. As a simple example, I could say that baseball player John Smith is the best batter ever because he had a career average of 1,000. Of course, it was only one hit in a single at-bat, so as a statistic, it's meaningless: the sample is just way too small. Even with larger samples, however, there are plenty of ways to skew things to favor a particular side.
In Freakonomics, authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner try to go beyond the myths created by selective statistics and show that often times, the conventional wisdom is wrong. As an example, the conventional wisdom would say it's a good idea to use a real estate agent to sell your house because his or her expertise would get you the best deal. The numbers show otherwise, however: agents often jump at the first good deal, knowing that holding out for a higher price may mean only a minimal jump in commission.
Another topic Levitt and Dubner deal with is how parenting affects the development of children and shows that parenting techniques, whether easygoing or strict (as long as it's not negligent or abusive), have very little effect on how a child develops. It's things that the parents are - such as educated or not, financially stable or not - that matters more than what they do. Basically, they argue, all those parenting books are relatively worthless.
The most controversial topic they deal with, however, deals with the substantial drop in crime since the early 1990s. They dispel various myths: the use of the death penalty, more police, gun control laws or laws that allow carrying concealed weapons. These and other ideas from all parts of the political spectrum can be demonstrated to have only minor effects. Instead, the single factor that overwhelmingly affected the crime rate was the legalization of abortion: the rise in abortions after Roe v. Wade decreased considerably the amount of children who would have been born into environments more likely to develop criminals.
Such a statement is bound to be inflammatory, especially among abortion opponents. Even if Levitt and Dubner try and remain apolitical and not endorse abortion, it's hard to see the crime drop in any other way but as an unintended benefit of Roe v. Wade. But numbers don't lie; the only question is whether Levitt and Dubner are lying. While I have not personally checked their facts, I give them a certain amount of credibility based on (1) despite the fact that there are no doubt plenty who would try, I have not heard of this information being seriously discredited (and given that it's a bestseller, you'd figure that if there was a significant lie, it would be newsworthy a la A Million Little Pieces); and (2) it makes sense. Nonetheless, the statements in this book should be taken with at least a grain of salt. Levitt and Dubner do make a point that numbers can be manipulated, and it could be that they are as guilty as the people they are trying to counter. Also, just because something seems to be logical doesn't automatically make it true.
As admitted early on, there is no real unifying theme that ties this book together as we go from real estate agents to the Ku Klux Klan to gangs to abortion to parenting. Instead, we merely get the shattering of certain myths and, like it or not, a lot of information, told in a light, readable manner. You may not like (or agree with) everything Freakonomics has to say, but it both entertains and makes you think. What more can you ask of a book? |
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Tom Loarie (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
Freakonomics is a hoot, one of the cleverest books I have read in a long while. Join author Steven Levitt on a journey into his world, one in which he sees things differently than the average person much less the average economist. At age thirty-six, Levitt is a full professor in the University of Chicago's legendary economics department, receiving tenure after only two years. (He is said to be at the top of every economics department's poaching list.)
Levitt is an intuitionist, unafraid of using personal observation and curiosities to explain how people get what they want, or need. He is also an ingenious researcher and a clear thinker. Freakonomics showcases each of these attributes as Levitt explores conventional wisdom and its fundamental weakness, the beauty of incentives as well as their dark side, the power of information and the abuse of this power, and the existence of conventional wisdom embedded in fabrication, self-interest, and convenience.
The new revised and expanded edition includes the original New York Times article on Levitt which led to the book, seven "Freakonomics" columns, and selected entries from the "Freakonomics Blog." These are all worthwhile additions to the book. The columns include: the probability that a real estate agent is cheating you; what ever happened to crack cocaine?; why vote?; and why we should be clamoring for more IRS audits not fewer. The blogs include wide ranging topics from `what do the Kansas City Royals Have in Common with an iPod?' to "Peak Oil: Welcome to the Media's New Version of Shark Attacks."
This is a book you will not easily put down or forget. And he provides immediate, useful advice... such as, avoid eating at the French Roast Restaurant, NE corner of 85th and Broadway, in Manhattan (pages 274-277). Enjoy! |
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