John Dubner's Freakonomics

“An expert must be bold if he hopes to alchemize his homespun theory into conventional wisdom …nuance often doesn’t get much attention.” Written by New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner and co-authored by John Bates Clark Medal awardee Steven D. Levitt, Freakonomics addresses those conventional wisdoms conceived by the partisan tendencies of the experts behind them; it delves into the economics, or as Levitt puts it, “incentives,” behind…everything. Freakonomics does not attempt to constrain itself to discussion of exchange of goods and services. Its application of economic principles to a variety of scenarios ensures that the book appeals to a general audience rather than remaining an obscure book only read by the academia. Freakonomics is structured into six chapters, each dealing with a different concept. Throughout the chapters, it maintains an anecdotal style that immerses the reader into a narrative while still managing to convey the
The idea that rewards for teachers with high test scores can cause cheating is quite apparent, but the claim that Roe v. Wade was responsible for the decrease in crime of the 1990s is a possibility that very few people, if any, have considered. Unconventional assessments of issues are the cornerstone of Freakonomics. A real estate agent’s and a seller’s interests may seem aligned at first glance, after all, commission is based upon the selling price of the house. However, real estate agents gain very little from maximizing the price of a house; the goal of the agent is to sell quickly for a decent price. A first impression and analysis of data reveal two separate stories. Levitt and Dubner “[strip] a layer or two from the surface of modern life” to reveal unexpected relations that trace back to the fundamental driver of all