Freakonomics

I've discovered the economics field in my first year of high school but it never quite intrigued me as much as it does now for I thought it was mostly about numbers, rates… Being a huge reader, I was recommended the book Freakonomics and that’s when I realized it was more than just stats; it’s the study of trends, group behaviors, how the world works and why mostly. It was intriguing and so eye-opening and I wanted to learn more. So I went through other books, Malcolm Gladwell, Jon Ronson,…

In the chapter “Where Have All the Criminals Gone” found in the book Freakonomics co-authored by Levitt and Dubner, a drastic decrease of crime starting in the 1990’s is observed (Dubner, Levitt 119). In attempt to explain this unexpected occurrence, several factors are examined to determine its correlation to the downward fall of crime rates, one of which, is the arrival of crack cocaine. As stated by Levitt and Dubner, “All told, the crash of the market accounted for roughly 15 percent of the…

“Freakonomics” is not a book containing any main characters, major events, or solutions. It is a book talking about incentives and what drives people to act the way they do, the incentives society provides don't always provide the results we want or expected. One of the main points that book talks about the difference between correlation and causation. If one cannot realize the difference between these two then they cannot tell if the incentives are working as planned or they are working for a…

In the book “Freakonomics” the authors Levitt and Dubner discuss Real-Estate and how agents benefit more than the client. The real-estate topic provides more convincing evidence that people are only inspired to do things based on incentives. The authors work to prove that realtors are self-motivated people, and are not actually helping people. Real-estate agents are professionals with more information than the client. They know how to manipulate a person to make a decision that will benefit the…

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt, a well renowned economist, and Stephen J. Dubner, a New York Times journalist, is a 2005 nonfiction book that ties together economics and everyday life. The sixth chapter of this book, titled “Perfect Parenting Part II; or: Would a Rashonda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet?” explores how parents play a role in their children’s success by giving them their names. Levitt wants to know how names differ among children whose parents are of varying economic and…

victimize and abuse someone that has less knowledge between the two parties. Society today doesn’t focus on the outcome of their actions, greed tends to run throughout society and it shows when we’re constantly abusing the power of information. In Freakonomics, by Steven Dubner and Stephen Levitt, they explain how experts use information to completely abuse and overrule their consumers to their advantage. Asymmetric information causes a massive imbalance in the quality or quantity of the…

The underground community has long since caused issues dealing with economics. Underground economy, meaning illegal drugs or items sold without being taxed. Freakonomics written by Dubner and Levitt, stresses the idea behind how the underground economy and incentives work in that organization. This book directly focuses on males within the drug trade, though in the more recent years, with the rise of women 's equality, there has been a shift in the balance of a male dominance in the drug…

Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner explain why humans are mostly apathetic but seldom altruistic in their book Super Freakonomics. I somewhat agree and disagree with their ideas because humans are innately altruistic. First, they provide a murder case that took place in a peaceful neighborhood. Kitty Genovese, lived here and was stabbed and raped by a man. The whole process lasted 30 minutes, but no one in the neighborhood called the police. Therefore, Levitt and Dubner suggest that humans are…

Justice Louis D. Brandeis. Like sunlight, data empowers people to construct tried and true way of thinking or clarifications that are acknowledged as genuine. Regularly, standard way of thinking is produced by specialists. In the motion picture Freakonomics: The primary center is to inform individuals to be doubtful on tried and true way of thinking and to think in a sensible manner because things are not generally what they appear to be. Stephen J. Dubner and Steven Levitt do as such by…

novels can offer a variety of perspectives to answer age old questions. In Freakonomics, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Brave New World, the authors explore how one’s environment may lead to good or bad moral decisions. Whether by attempting to quantify poor behavior or exploring indulgence, these novels offer a unique perspective on human behavior; one that only literature can offer. At the core of Freakonomics is an examination of natural human choices and decisions. Most of the book…