Book Review: Freakonomics
Book Reviews September 24th, 2007
Category: Books
Genre: Business & Investing
Author: Steven D Levitt, Stephen J Dubner
Stats made interesting. Levitt finds data that contradicts conventional wisdom and answers questions that are often overlooked or ignored. Great questions and interesting topics in this book are uncovered under a blanket of what the world generally perceives to be true. He covers such questions that don’t have usual answers, such as:
- Do teachers cheat and why?
- Is cheating a problem with Sumo wrestling?
- Why has crime rate dropped?
- Do real estate agents really get the most value for your home?
- Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?
- How well do honor system work for payment?
He cautions some of the approaches most studies and research follows and proves a great point. The correlations of data are not to be trusted as there are always other factors less obvious. Even some of his own research he only found by questioning what was thought to be an obvious answer. One last focus of the book covers reducing crime rates and Levitt credits this to the legalization of abortion. While I find this rather disturbing, he proves his case with credible theories and statistics.
I personally liked reading it, there are many great stories in the book with many points where I laughed out loud and was surprised by the findings that have seemed to simply slip behind the more ‘obvious’ answers to some of his questions. I think its a great book, my only disappointment from it was the last chapters on names. That ruined the end of it for me. Overall, a very good book, he doesn’t close this one very well or end with any one particular finding. You need to see that for yourself from the entire book!
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October 31st, 2008 at 10:57 PM
Just finished this book a few days back. Thanks for the recommendation Mike. A good book overall. However, just like you, not only do I find the idea that legalizing abortion was the primary cause of decreased crime rate, disturbing; I would go further and say that it cannot be true. Why? Because God says (rough translation from Arabic):
And kill not your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them and for you. Surely, the killing of them is a great sin. (Quran; Chapter 17, Verse 31)
The idea of abortion is promoted, at least as presented in the book, to mainly curb poverty — in exact opposition to the verses above!
I realize not everybody believes in God. So, religion aside, if unwanted-pregnancy is the problem, why not go back a step and solve the underlying issues that lead a woman to be in such a situation in the first place? It does not make sense to me that a woman — a teen, rather — getting pregnant is fine but having that child is not.
November 1st, 2008 at 12:07 AM
You are very right Khalid, that whole topic is disturbing all right! Unfortunately, most people are afraid to look at the real reasons for things and instead cover it up with new laws and rules to make it seem OK in the eye of society. That definitely doesn’t mean it is OK from any moral or spiritual standard though.