Preview

Steven Dubner's Freakonomics

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
222 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Steven Dubner's Freakonomics
Freakonomics:A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, is a nonfiction book written by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. This book combines economics with common, everyday stories of people and activities, creating economic-based solutions. Much like a game of chess where an individual must predict the movement of pieces, Dubner and Levitt dug deeper into common issues rather than simply scratching the surface of it. Their intention during the phases of creation of this book was to explore the hidden side of everything. The passage above (typed in 10-point font and single-spaced), from Chapter One: What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common, informs the readers of a serious issue in schools.
To our understanding,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The short, sudden fiction “Popular Mechanics,” is written by Raymon Carter. The text portrays a couple who fight for their child. This story symbolizes the hardship of love and letting go. It shows the both the man and woman not letting go of the child, literally. If had they let go, the child will have been in the possession of the other person, but the child will be unharmed. The baby symbolizes the bond they had in the past. Neither of them want to let go of the beauty they share, but one or the other is left to be torn apart from their loss. Knowing this brings a deeper metamorphic side and greater intensity toward the reader.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This paragraph will share some aspects of information on the author Carolyn Mackler and her coauthored novel with Jay Asher, The Future of Us. First, Carolyn Mackler was born in Manhattan on Friday, July 13, 1973. When she was at the age of one she moved from Greenwich Village to Syracuse and then to Brockport, New York. Of which, all places that are in America, relating to the setting of the book, The Future of Us, which is set in Pennsylvania just ways away from New York. Second, as Carolyn grew up she found her love of reading and writing increase, she felt that she spent more time in the reality of her books than in the reality of the real world. This is a strong connection to one of the main characters Emma Nelson who spent majority of…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Space Merchant is a science fiction novel written by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth. The book displays the future of the city and society in a dystopia prospect. Dystopia is the future that we fear and want to avoid. It views the world as the place full of danger where oppression and human misery happen. (Cite) The Space Merchant addresses many possible problems that can happen in the future such as inadequate resources, privatization, and segregation. In the book, the advertising agencies overpower the government and serve as the most powerful and influential institution in the country. Even though the city has many innovative technology such as an express elevator, it is lack of the most basic elements of life like water and fuel. To escape the scarcity problem, Fowler Schocken advertising agency is trying to colonize the planet Venus, which has been proved for human settlement, and exploit its resources for human…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Barbara Ehrenreich's, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, is a book that strives to change the way America perceives its working poor. Achieving the American Dream can be difficult, if not impossible for many people with stumbling blocks and obstacles along the way as portrayed in Nickel and Dimed, due to the cost of living in contrast to the wage of low or middle class earners.…

    • 1809 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who ever said being street smart but not book smart was a bad thing? In his short essay “Hidden Intellectualism” written in 2003 Gerald Graff talks about what people call book smart (Intellectualism) can hide into what one calls “Street Smart”(Hidden Intellectualism). Graff argues about how teachers are going the wrong way on how they should do their job, stating that they can use this to their advantage by using topics that such individuals are interested in whether it’s clothing, sports or even video games to educate them. The essay was illuminating and persuasive at convincing it’s readers because of the ethos, well written counterclaim and purpose. If topics such…

    • 670 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The novel Outliers, aims to investigate the very thing we want for our family, our students, and ourselves. For most of our lives we have believed that with hard work, anyone can achieve success. That had to be the reason that poor immigrants like Andrew Carnegie and college dropouts like Bill Gates achieved unimaginable wealth. Most of us were taught that working harder than anyone else would lead to ultimate success.…

    • 1864 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Levitt's Freakonomics

    • 94 Words
    • 1 Page

    The central thesis and argument of this segment of Freakonomics are the reasons why the rates of crime in the United States rapidly reduce in recent years. I think this argument that Steven Levitt reasonably explains about decreasing American criminal rates in possible points. As Levitt’s explanations, he is arguing that an increase in the reliance on prisons, innovative policing strategies, changes in the crack market, lawful enforcements including to increase in police nationwide and gun-control laws, and a legalization of abortion. I personally also think that all of these reasons are definitely…

    • 94 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Showing Up” by Angela Duckworth she investigates the high dropout rate that occurs in the United States Military Academy called West Point. This is an academy where on the most athletic and smart people can attend. They undergo an intensive training called the beast and this is where the most students start to drop out. At first Duckworth believes that in order to succeed in this rigorous training you had to have the knowledge to do it, but in the end she finds out that knowledge is not the driving force behind the success of students that accomplish the beast.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Book Theif

    • 6546 Words
    • 27 Pages

    9. What was Rudy’s father trying to teach his son on the night of the Jesse Owens incident? He should be proud of his blue eyes and blonde hair; he is the perfect image of the Aryan race.…

    • 6546 Words
    • 27 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Will the Computer Replace the Mind?by Rav B. Horovitz An adaptation based upon articles by Rav S. D. Sassoon and Rav Arye Kaplan. Science and advanced technology appear to have brought us to the pinnacle of the Biblical mandate to subdue the world (Genesis 1:28). Not only has man conquered the world of outer space, he is achieving domination in the inner space of the nucleus. He is unravelling the mysteries of genetic codes and is engineering new life forms. The computer, and the technology of robotics and artificial intelligence, stand at the frontier of man's efforts to master his world. A computer is capable of doing calculations…

    • 2174 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There is a common misconception when people say no pain, no gain. Does pain necessarily reward a person or help them succeed? Although this may seem to be true there are always ways to succeed without going in “pain”. This common conventional wisdom is used all around the world. In their book Freakonomics, New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner and University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt state that “We associate truth with convenience, with what most closely accords with self-interest and personal well-being or promises best to avoid awkward effort or unwelcome dislocation of life" (86). In other words, a person chooses to acknowledge and believe what is being said or done simply because they possibly benefit from it and for their…

    • 132 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everyone likes to conform to match the norm, and will blindly follow if it means that they are part of the group. This conformity is heavily present in ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson, and ‘Examination Day’ by Henry Slesar. In both short stories, people conform to the traditions and routines that have been dictated to them. In ‘The Lottery’, a small town has a tradition of annually sacrificing one of their own, who is chosen by a raffle. The winner, a woman named Tessie Hutchinson, pleads that it isn’t fair, when the townsfolk retort that everyone had the same chance. In ‘Examination Day’, a future dystopian government gives twelve year olds an exam, and if the government deems them too smart, they are killed. Twelve year old Dickie and his…

    • 1838 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    John Gatto, a school teacher in the Manhattan area, taught for thirty years at a variety of different schools. During these years, he realized that children were frequently bored with classroom activities as a result of how they were being taught. Students were not being challenged and often already knew the concepts behind the materials taught. Jean Anyon further supports and agrees with Gatto’s statements about the public school system. In her article, she specifies that schools in wealthy communities are far better than those of poorer communities, and they better prepare children for desirable jobs. Anyon concluded these finding by investigating schools in four different social classes, ranging from working class to executive elite schools.…

    • 2556 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Through his logical and familiar depiction of the situation, highlighted by his use of humor, Kahn is able to translate a rather complex issue into an argument that anyone can understand and offers a solution. Even though he is the pioneer of this idea, his clear understanding and depiction of the situation lend weight to his idea, even to those who might now know who he is. Many would agree that there are problems with the education system and Kahn highlights those while also explaining why they happen. If someone then considers the success that Kahn has had with Kahn Academy, it is clear that his ideas have some merit. Perhaps the most compelling part of his argument is his portrait of what the future could be like with a better education system. With a little effort, perhaps in the not-so-distant future the education system could be improved enough to allow everyone to contribute to difficult problems facing…

    • 1575 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why I Want To Be A MFA

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Working within education for nearly a decade affords me insight into one of the world’s largest industries. The inner workings of pre-schools through Universities and the functions of the school boards are no mystery to insiders like me.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays