Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

It’s a bit hard to briefly describe what this book is about when one is asked. Fortunately, it really doesn’t matter. This is a book that makes a lot of interesting observations about every day life, and how if one takes a bit of time to research statistics and talk to people, you can learn an awful lot about what makes things tick, and how certain things and events happen the way that they do.  If I could attempt to sum up this book in one word, I’d be tempted to use the word “clickbait”.  Let me explain….

If you’re like me, you find yourself electronically surfing through news sites on a semi-regular basis.  Quite often you come across a headline that says something like “Studies show that red-haired middle children are more likely to gain weight during the Holiday season”.  Or “People who are born when the moon is full have the most success in getting into college if the university name contains the letter ‘R’.”   Now I confess, that when I come across such headlines,  I usually give in to the temptation, and will spend a few minutes perusing such articles.   Do they really matter?  Does the average person really care?  Well, probably not, but our brain is wired to be interested when presented with such bizarre statements that someone is trying to convince us that they are, indeed, facts.

Well, this is basically what this book is.  The authors state about 8 or 10 interesting factoids, and back up their conclusions using a host of statistics. I seem to recall there was a very interesting story on why schoolteachers were tempted to cheat and report higher grades for their students.  Even more interesting was why these teachers wanted to do this, and how this particular scheme was unmasked.  We also read accounts about why Sumo Wrestlers cheat, why Crack-addicts still live at home with their mothers, how giving your child a “white” name is more advantageous than giving your child a “black” name, and how the passing of Roe-Wade actually ended up decreasing crime in the United States over time.

If those last two made you raise your eyebrows and become slightly offended, well the authors are aware, and they try to cover themselves by maintaining that they aren’t stating their personal opinions, yet stating (what they try to prove as) facts.  So, yes, you may come away feeling offended by some of their conclusions, but I was left with the impression that the authors have a strange hobby of trying to learn the unknown, and then revealing their findings to anyone who wants to listen while providing pages of information that backs up their conclusions.

I believe the edition that I read contain a “bonus” section, which was almost as long as the actual book.  In this bonus section, we read about even more observations, follow-ups to what was in the main book, as well snippets from the authors’ blog, which is up and running somewhere on the interwebs.  I believe the authors even broadcast a regular podcast as well.  There simply is an unlimited number of conclusions one can make about their surroundings as long as enough data exists, and one has the tenacity to meticulously study it all.

I wouldn’t call this book essentially necessary, but I thought it was a fun, almost mindless read.  Also, if one has an inquisitive mind, I imagine that they might be inclined to learn more about their surroundings and their hobbies by taking the same efforts that the authors presented here.  Who knows, maybe a news site would then hire you to write snappy “clickbait” articles?