Curl Up With a Book Sunday

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


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I tried not to like this book. This is not because I didn't agree with the authors' premise. On the contrary, I am a skeptic and do not buy what passes for conventional wisdom. Instead, I was too cool to show that I was impressed by the revelations. This was easy at the beginning. Part of that is because I had heard some of the first stories years ago. I was well aware that the crime rate is generally untouched by new policing policies and is far more accurately predicted by looking at the numbers of youth in the age range that typically commit crimes. Still, after several more case studies, I was impressed. Yes, the book is a bit sensationalized and some of the connections are a bit more of a stretch than others. The thing to remember when reading any book like this is that correlation (even really tight correlations) do not prove causality.

All in all, this is a very good book and should be read (with an open mind) by any and all. If you are sure you know all the answers about how the world works, you absolutely must read this one. Knowledge really is power.

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