Freakonomics

The question “Should the government intervene in the market for ride sharing?” is heavily debated. In order to answer this question, we must first understand the technique used by the economists in Freakonomics to estimate demand. Demand is the willingness and ability of buyers to purchase different quantities of a good or service at different prices, during a specific time period. The key to estimating a demand curve is to fluctuate the prices while keeping the consumer pool constant (having…

Throughout chapters seventeen through twenty-four of the nonfiction novel From Triumph to Tragedy, authors John Tartaglio and Andrew Chapin argue that, regardless of the circumstances of a situation, people should not give up on the way to reaching their goals when unexpected challenges hinder their ability to achieve what they aspire to. Both authors want to encourage readers to battle through tough times, by highlighting that, despite the challenges which come with having both legs amputated…

INTRODUCTION I first heard of this book when my father mentioned it to me as something he had found very interesting and out of the box. At the time, I was considering Psychology, Economics, Statistics, Math and Political science as potential majors. But after reading this book, I decided on Economics and Psychology. The book is written in extremely simple language but the ideas presented in it are absolute genius. The book talks about issues that are widely prevalent in the world today, which…

Charles Wheelan was born in 1966 and later graduated from Dartmouth college with a major in economics. He currently is a democratic candidate the the U.S Representative for Illinois in the 5th District. He is also the author of Naked Statistics, Naked Money and Naked Economics. Wheelan wrote Naked Economics in a way that anyone can understand it, whether you are a professional economist or just a high school student studying basic economics. After reading the entire book, it is now clear to me…

Imagine you’re playing outside and it starts to rain out of nowhere. Without giving it much thought you continue to play, but minutes later you feel a shooting pain all throughout your body as if you had just been tased. You are lying on the ground unable to move and unaware of what had just happened to you. Several months later you wake in a hospital bed with flowers and family members surrounding you. Little did you know that you were put into a coma after being struck by lightning. Being…

Book Report Naked Economics is a book in which author Charles Wheelan provides insight into economic concepts and foundations through his comprehensible firsthand accounts and vivid examples. He avoids explanations involving graphs, charts, and formulas in favor of appealing to the majority of readers that are not economists and prefer his use of plain English and amusing anecdotes. Naked Economics provides a broad overview of how economics explains why certain things work and others don’t work…

In the mood changing book, Freak the Mighty, many issues are brought up, but three of the many stand out to me the most, rehabilitation, coat of arms, and Kevin's syndrome. Rehabilitation is something that must be improved in the USA because currently 25% of the world's prisoners are located in the United States. Coat of arms is different than all the other issues brought up in Freak the Mighty, coat of arms is passed down from generation to generation, to keep your family’s coat of arms there…

The Webster dictionary defines a freak as such “one that is markedly unusual or abnormal”. Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have a slightly different perspective on the term freak. “To think a bit differently, a bit harder, a bit more freely” (Think Like a Freak, 211). Throughout their novel, they encourage you, as the reader, to think diversely in your everyday life. Each chapter guides you through a new insightful way to think about situations. From admitting that you just don’t know,…

Approaches to Problem Solving “The internet is the most complex system that humans have ever invented. And with every internet enabled operation that we’ve seen so far, all of these offensive operations, we see knock on effects. We see unintended consequences”, said Edward Snowden. Internet may seem to make our lives more comfortable in various ways. However, it often brings a lot of drawbacks to our society. For instance, teenagers who are addicted to internet may follow the reprehensible…

“Freakanomics” by Steven D. Levitt fascinated me to how businesses play a part in every aspect of life, even drug dealing. Levitt compared a gang’s organizational chart to a McDonald’s version and it was quite similar, the gang even had a board of directors. “Freakanomics” showed how businesses play the market to their advantage, similar to how “Listerine did not make mouthwash as much as it made halitosis.” I am fascinated by how business can shape the world; I believe it is more than just…