Freakonomics... - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

xepherys · 05-31-2005, 02:35 PM

Has anyone else read this book yet? I've just started and am about 25% of the way through it. For those who don't know, it's a book that offers alternative views and solutions to today's problems through the eyes of an economist (Remember kids, economy doesn't have to do with money... it has to do with systems).

Check out this link.

Some of the topics are:

Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool?
What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?
Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?
How much do parents really matter?
What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?

It's quite interesting... also, you can find out more about it here .

~X

sgn43 · 05-31-2005, 02:42 PM

I'll be picking this book up soon as it is near the top of my list for summer reading. As soon as finals end, I'll start up on this.

I saw the Steven Levitt promoting his book on the Daily Show and regularly check his blog. He makes some really fascinating points and I've been intrigued by the book for months now, but can't find time to fit it in with school.

xepherys · 05-31-2005, 02:45 PM

sgn43,

Happy reading. For those of you who might also be holding off due to other obligations, bear this in mind... one beauty of this book is it can be easily read and enjoyed in small sittings. Read a few pages here and there, or even us it as bathroom reading now and again. It's sure to delight you even in the smallest of time periods.

sgn43 · 05-31-2005, 02:48 PM

Heh...that's a good point. Another big obstacle for me has just been overcoming laziness and actually driving out to the bookstore to pick it up. I'm also trying to get through a couple other books that I started and am trying to slowly chip away at. But, I'm definitely picking up Freakanomics soon.

edit: for anyone interested in seeing what the book is like, you should check out the author's blog: http://www.freakonomics.com/blog.php

fallsauce · 05-31-2005, 05:04 PM

This book sounds excellent, here's hoping it'll be released in NZ, (actually, I should just hope it becomes a best seller, we'll definitely get it here then.)

ETA: OK, just found out it is available here, now I'm hoping it'll become a little cheaper than $55.

xepherys · 05-31-2005, 06:39 PM

Holy hell! $55? Wait... is that local currency? What does that come out to in USD? I can buy it here at Barnes and Noble for roughly US$15+tax. Maybe someone could pick up a copy here in the US and ship it to you for less money? *shrug*

fallsauce · 05-31-2005, 06:53 PM

Yeah, local currency. Generally adult books sell for about $35. And I think it's $55 because they're shipping it from the US, if only shipping costs doesn't exist...

guthmund · 05-31-2005, 08:19 PM

I've got a lot on my plate to read as is, so I'm waiting to see if the local library picks it up. Otherwise I'll probably order it.

I have a good feeling though. The author was on the Daily Show and it seems the library picks up a lot of Jon Stewart approved (

) stuff, which is kind of funny as the library is run by a bunch of older ladies....maybe they're Stewart fans?

reiii · 05-31-2005, 08:20 PM

Note to self: don't sell crack on the street you make squat

Mephisto2 · 05-31-2005, 08:29 PM

As long as it's not based on Reaganomics, it might be worth checking out.

Mr Mephisto

xepherys · 05-31-2005, 09:40 PM

Are you saying Reagan was a freak? ;-)

chickentribs · 06-01-2005, 12:41 AM

Picked it up in Vancouver about a month ago and read through it in couple of days. - Great Book! Steven Levitt is blending sociology and economics in remarkable ways to answer questions you woudn equate with Econ. The The case studies are pretty remarkable, but the real value is in walking you thrugh showing you the value of critical thought.

My favorite bit is how he defines economics. See, my B.S. is in Economics, but I sell software for a living, and that has been an issue in interviews - What's a Economist doing in Sales? Economics is the science of motivation.

k1ng · 06-01-2005, 09:54 PM

I've been on the waiting list at the library for this book for weeks and I still have 56 people in front of me. I have been reading the blog regularly and I enjoy it quite a bit, so I can't wait for the book to arrive.

I've been tempted to buy it at the store, but I'm trying to just wait it out. Libraries need to order more copies:/

cyrnel · 06-01-2005, 10:05 PM

Hey! I just bought a copy of this at Borders tonight. Mighty big print but looks good so far.

"Follow the money."

sgn43 · 06-16-2005, 11:09 PM

I finally got around to buying the book and it's even better than I thought it would be. For anyone looking for a good, fascinating, relatively quick summer read, look no further.

05-31-2005, 02:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
xepherys <3 TFP Location: 17TLH2445607250	Freakonomics... Has anyone else read this book yet? I've just started and am about 25% of the way through it. For those who don't know, it's a book that offers alternative views and solutions to today's problems through the eyes of an economist (Remember kids, economy doesn't have to do with money... it has to do with systems). Check out this link. Some of the topics are: Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime? It's quite interesting... also, you can find out more about it here . ~X

05-31-2005, 02:42 PM	#2 (permalink)
sgn43 Insane Location: Los Angeles	I'll be picking this book up soon as it is near the top of my list for summer reading. As soon as finals end, I'll start up on this. I saw the Steven Levitt promoting his book on the Daily Show and regularly check his blog. He makes some really fascinating points and I've been intrigued by the book for months now, but can't find time to fit it in with school. __________________ To be great is to be misunderstood. -Emerson

05-31-2005, 02:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
sgn43 Insane Location: Los Angeles	Heh...that's a good point. Another big obstacle for me has just been overcoming laziness and actually driving out to the bookstore to pick it up. I'm also trying to get through a couple other books that I started and am trying to slowly chip away at. But, I'm definitely picking up Freakanomics soon. edit: for anyone interested in seeing what the book is like, you should check out the author's blog: http://www.freakonomics.com/blog.php __________________ To be great is to be misunderstood. -Emerson Last edited by sgn43; 05-31-2005 at 03:16 PM..

05-31-2005, 05:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
fallsauce Insane	This book sounds excellent, here's hoping it'll be released in NZ, (actually, I should just hope it becomes a best seller, we'll definitely get it here then.) ETA: OK, just found out it is available here, now I'm hoping it'll become a little cheaper than $55. __________________ "Hey little kitty with your tail dragging on the floor You could have a following in every town that you go" Electric Six - I Invented The Night Last edited by fallsauce; 05-31-2005 at 05:11 PM..

05-31-2005, 06:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
fallsauce Insane	Yeah, local currency. Generally adult books sell for about $35. And I think it's $55 because they're shipping it from the US, if only shipping costs doesn't exist... __________________ "Hey little kitty with your tail dragging on the floor You could have a following in every town that you go" Electric Six - I Invented The Night

05-31-2005, 02:45 PM	#3 (permalink)
xepherys <3 TFP Location: 17TLH2445607250	sgn43, Happy reading. For those of you who might also be holding off due to other obligations, bear this in mind... one beauty of this book is it can be easily read and enjoyed in small sittings. Read a few pages here and there, or even us it as bathroom reading now and again. It's sure to delight you even in the smallest of time periods.

05-31-2005, 06:39 PM	#6 (permalink)
xepherys <3 TFP Location: 17TLH2445607250	Holy hell! $55? Wait... is that local currency? What does that come out to in USD? I can buy it here at Barnes and Noble for roughly US$15+tax. Maybe someone could pick up a copy here in the US and ship it to you for less money? shrug

05-31-2005, 08:19 PM	#8 (permalink)
guthmund big damn hero	I've got a lot on my plate to read as is, so I'm waiting to see if the local library picks it up. Otherwise I'll probably order it. I have a good feeling though. The author was on the Daily Show and it seems the library picks up a lot of Jon Stewart approved ( ) stuff, which is kind of funny as the library is run by a bunch of older ladies....maybe they're Stewart fans? __________________ No signature. None. Seriously.

05-31-2005, 08:20 PM	#9 (permalink)
reiii unstuck in time Location: Nashville/D.C.	Note to self: don't sell crack on the street you make squat __________________ "Jombe? The chocolate icing" -hedonism bot

05-31-2005, 08:29 PM	#10 (permalink)
Mephisto2 Junkie	As long as it's not based on Reaganomics, it might be worth checking out. Mr Mephisto

05-31-2005, 09:40 PM	#11 (permalink)
xepherys <3 TFP Location: 17TLH2445607250	Are you saying Reagan was a freak? ;-)

06-01-2005, 12:41 AM	#12 (permalink)
chickentribs Addict Location: Mansion by day/Secret Lair by night	Picked it up in Vancouver about a month ago and read through it in couple of days. - Great Book! Steven Levitt is blending sociology and economics in remarkable ways to answer questions you woudn equate with Econ. The The case studies are pretty remarkable, but the real value is in walking you thrugh showing you the value of critical thought. My favorite bit is how he defines economics. See, my B.S. is in Economics, but I sell software for a living, and that has been an issue in interviews - What's a Economist doing in Sales? Economics is the science of motivation. __________________ Oft expectation fails... and most oft there Where most it promises - Shakespeare, W.

06-01-2005, 09:54 PM	#13 (permalink)
k1ng Nothing Location: Atlanta, GA	I've been on the waiting list at the library for this book for weeks and I still have 56 people in front of me. I have been reading the blog regularly and I enjoy it quite a bit, so I can't wait for the book to arrive. I've been tempted to buy it at the store, but I'm trying to just wait it out. Libraries need to order more copies:/ __________________ "Delight in excellence is easily confused with snobbery by the ignorant." -Joseph Epstein

06-01-2005, 10:05 PM	#14 (permalink)
cyrnel Adequate Location: In my angry-dome.	Hey! I just bought a copy of this at Borders tonight. Mighty big print but looks good so far. "Follow the money." __________________ There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195

06-16-2005, 11:09 PM	#15 (permalink)
sgn43 Insane Location: Los Angeles	I finally got around to buying the book and it's even better than I thought it would be. For anyone looking for a good, fascinating, relatively quick summer read, look no further. __________________ To be great is to be misunderstood. -Emerson