Stephen J. Dubner

What Freakonomics is trying to argue that every economic theory is wrong in the sense that it missed that missing link. The authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner of Freakonomics wants the reader change their entire perspective on economics. Levitt, the economist of the two authors believes there are root causes to everything certain incentives that pushes humans to act a certain way. The book takes this rule and applies it to teachers cheating, sumo wrestlers fixing matches and crime in New York city. The only difference between when other economist try this theory and when Levitt and Dubner uses it, is they dismiss every theory the reader may have heard. When Dubner and Levitt talk about the origins that help cause New York’s drop…

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner examines how incentives are the driving force of human behavior. The book makes a connection between incentives and the economy; specifically how these motivations cause a shift in the financial system. The authors of this text are able to support their argument that this connection is feasible through the use of rhetorical questions, juxtaposition, anecdotes, and an inquisitive tone. In order to prove that incentives- “the cornerstone[s]…

While Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner deal with highly controversial topics in Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, their structured approach reveals the pair’s awareness of the sensitivity of their material. After introducing a data set, the authors offer possible causes before disproving them and then verifying that the final, contentious explanation numerically supports the data. Levitt and Dubner’s carefully organized build-up to a conclusion allows…

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner Andrew Feist The University of Akron United States Government & Politics 100-638 MWRF 11:00-11:50am Dr. James Holland 07 November 2014 The connection between a teacher and a sumo wrestler probably has not crossed your mind. Have you ever thought about how real-estate agents are similar to members of the Ku Klux Klan? These are not connections you would usually make every day, but…

Think Like a Freak by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner SOAPstone When economist Steven D. Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubner published Freakonomics, many asked the authors, how do they think like this? How can one think like this? In response, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner wrote Think Like a Freak, a how-to guide on extreme outside of the box thinking. By asking obvious questions, thinking like a child, and many other strange behaviors that can only be explained with the…

feels when he comes in thirteenth place in the New York City Marathon. By comparing Tartaglio’s thought processes and emotions after his defeat and triumph, I want to push myself to feel that urgent sense of happiness Tartaglio felt. The feeling of victory, gained by devoting hours every day to building strength, stamina, confidence, and a positive attitude, Tartaglio felt is a feeling I strive to have. I am, like many others in my predicament, tired of never feeling confident about my body. I…

and family members surrounding you. Little did you know that you were put into a coma after being struck by lightning. Being struck by lightning is a very rare occurrence, but does that mean we still shouldn’t worry about it as much as other things? According to Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s article “SuperFreakonomics: What Should You Worry About?”, we shouldn’t fear things like this as much as things like cancer. Levitt and Dubner claim that we are “bad at assessing risk” and that we…

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner takes on six different topics with an interesting type of thinking. Throughout the book the authors question what causes the variables of x and y. In this they go over if one causes the other or if they are just related and causes by another factor z. This brings to question many topics and goes deep into the analysis of what causes what and if there are hidden factors that people don’t see. To do this they use many sources of statistics to…

In addition to being an Economics professor at the University of Chicago, Levitt has been awarded the John Bates Clark medal and holds the title of the most influential economist at forty. Dubner comes from a journalism background and has been a writer for the New York Times. Due to extensive knowledge and experience in their respective fields, they are very clear about the ideas they want to put forth. They use strong diction, ask intelligent questions and use specific and relevant examples to…

Freakonomics has no unifying theme, rather it has multiple themes. Although there is no unifying theme in the book, Levitt and Dubner have a recurring theme which states that “economists love incentives…The typical economist believes that the world has not yet invented a problem that he cannot fix if given a free hand to design the proper incentive scheme.” Freakonomics can described as the power of incentives and how one acts upon them. Similar to the definition of freakonomics, economics is…