In my AP Economics class in high school, my teacher had us read a couple chapters of Freakonomics. I picked up the book once again because I had been thinking a lot about life. I am one of those people who is constantly wondering why people do the things they do. For instance, in what circumstances are we more likely to steal, cheat, or murder? What are some of the factors that lead people to crime? If no one were looking, would we cheat the system?
#1 New York Times Best Seller Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven Levitt & Stephen J Dubner
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven Levitt & Stephen J Dubner answers these questions using economics and public information given by the government. With chapters titled Why Do Drug Dealers Live With Their Mom? What Do Teachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common? Where Have All the Criminals Gone? The reader is given information and statistics about the likelihood of a child becoming a criminal, how people on executive floors are more likely to steal than their subordinates, and how children are 100 times more likely to die from a household owning a swimming pool than a gun.
Levitt & Dubner make what some might would call morally questionable statements. Their research shows that the drop in crime in the last 20 years was caused by the legalization of abortion. They discuss how the choice of a name reflects their socioeconomic status. The book shows how black children’s grades were catching up to white children’s grades after intergration went into effect in the public school system, but then declined after the explosion of crack cocaine.
So I leave you with these questions: How is the Klu Klux Klan Like a Group of Real Estate Agents? What Makes a Perfect Parent? Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet? If these questions have made you curious, I recommend you read Freakonomics. By the end of the first chapter, you’ll be both surprised and amused.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
Live Loud 