Post: #1

The third book written by the men who wrote the bestsellers Freakonomics and Super Freakonomics. This time the authors (the economist Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen Dubner) explain the methods used in the first two books.




In their latest book, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner cite several examples of people who trick guilty parties (i.e. those who prey upon people who are ignorant and/or gullible) into unwittingly revealing their guilt through their own behavior. Here are three examples:

o Two women appealed to King Solomon, both claiming to be the mother of a newborn. Unable to decide, he ordered the child to be cut in half and divided equally. One woman embraced the idea. He knew immediately that the other woman who begged him to let the other have the child was in fact its mother.

o Rock star David Lee Roth of the Van Halen group has a 53-page list of technical and security requirements. One in the Munchies section specifies "M&Ms (WARNING: ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES)." Immediately upon arrival, he checks the jar. "If he saw brown ones, he knew the promoter hadn't read the rider [to the otherwise standard contract) -- and that 'we had to do a serious line check' to make sure that the most important details hadn't been botched either."

o So-called "Nigerian scammers" send millions of email messages each month to millions of people throughout the world. (It's called the "Nigerian scam" because more than half of the messages invoke Nigeria than all of the other emails combined.) I have received 3-5 each week in recent years. The "Beloved friend" message is always illiterate and ludicrous. Stupid, right? Not so fast. According to Levitt and Dubner, the Nigerian scammers know that almost everyone who receives a message will ignore it. But if only one in a hundred recipients provides the requested bank information....

"The ridiculous-sounding Nigerian emails seem to be quite good at getting the scammers' massive garden to weed itself." Those who think like a freak have mastered that skill. Some people use it to prey upon people who are ignorant and/or gullible. Others use it to identify predators.

In Think Like a Freak, Levitt and Dubner develop in much greater depth -- and with a few unexpected wrinkles -- some of the core concepts examined in Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics:

1. Incentives are the cornerstones of modern life.
2. Knowing what to measure, and how to measure it, can make a complicated world less so.
3. The conventional wisdom is often wrong.
4. Correlation does not equal causality.

Post: #2

The first two books are two of my all time favourites.

Didn't know this had been written; thanks for the heads up!

Post: #3

I'm gonna get this, I love these types of books!!

Post: #4

Well written review. I was sitting on the fence regarding whether to follow this series. Leaning towards reading all three books now.
Currently reading Simplexity (Jeffrey Kluger, 2008), another interesting (though a tad long winded at times) book which explores the concept of simplicity & complexity in the modern world.

Post: #5

(11-28-2014 06:12 PM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  The first two books are two of my all time favourites.

Didn't know this had been written; thanks for the heads up!

The first Freakonomics book is probably in my top 5 because it was the first book I read that led me to question conventional wisdom by looking at data rather than opinions or gut feeling.

(11-28-2014 07:36 PM)Moma Wrote:  I'm gonna get this, I love these types of books!!

Check out the Freakonomics podcast, too. Some of their topics include What's More Dangerous, Marijuana or Alcohol?, Is College Worth It?, why restaurants choose to give free appetizers, and one of their best episodes Women Are Not Men.

(11-29-2014 05:25 AM)Frank Rook Wrote:  Well written review. I was sitting on the fence regarding whether to follow this series. Leaning towards reading all three books now.
Currently reading Simplexity (Jeffrey Kluger, 2008), another interesting (though a tad long winded at times) book which explores the concept of simplicity & complexity in the modern world.

At the least, read Freakonomics. After reading it I immediately bought the next book.

Post: #6

Ok, bought and read the book today cover to cover.

Whilst not quite in the same league as the other two, as much for the lack of surprise at the non-conventional conclusions it is still worth a read in its own right.

Thanks again OP.

Post: #7

I just finished this book today. I'm on a reading streak.
Since their is already a decent thread. Ill just add my comments in.

This book is really good for men that are analytical and can apply the lessons taught here to other aspects of life.


I really liked the soccer introduction.
Sometimes you have to accept that the right answer is not always the popular answer.
Raw data is what is truly king. Not feelings.

George Bernard Shaw's quote.
"Few people think more than two or three times a year" was pretty hard hitting.
Every is so wrapped up in trying to live life on their feelings and gut instincts.
There is nothing wrong with that, but sometimes you just need to stop and think ( even if you think so fast that it seems like instinct) about the actual facts in a decision.

*
The brief area where they talk about how no one wanted to hear them out, when they said that the playbook we were using for world counter terrorism was flawed.
A Decade down the road, people are still arguing what should have happened and what should have been done.


*Subtle jab at Tengen/Rational wine.
There is no difference between my 8 dollar bottle of wine and your 100 dollar bottle of wine.
People just trust you about wine more than they do me.



* Subtle jab at Redbeard
That claims the authors are SJWs.
The book talks about education. SJW types will usually blame everyone that isn't truly at fault.
Blame the school system, blame racism, blame the lack of money.
This book is pretty direct.
Blame the parents...Stop letting stupid parents have kids.
Their are hours and hours of courses and classes that a Sommelier has to go through just to tell people about wine.
Many people argue that the wine industry is a fraud.
But no one looks twice when trailer trash families have 6 kids.

The book also tries to make a note that. Maybe it is the teachers fault.
Everyone has heard the phrase, those who can't do...Teach.
Why are American teachers often the bottom of their classes in course work. While many other countries recruit the tops of their ranks to become teachers and put much more value on it as a job
The problem with the school system might be, dumb ass teachers.


*
I like how the book uses he story of Kobi the hot dog eating champ as a lesson on re-framing questions.
The record was 25 hotdogs and Kobi wanted to eat more.
Instead of asking himself, " How can I eat more hotdogs?" he asked himself " How can I make hotdogs easier to eat"

AKA lots of people sit around trying to solve questions in a linear fashion..when the answer to a problem might come from asking a different question.


*The books talked a lot about incentives.
its pretty much the topic of the book. What makes us do things.
If you apply the lessons on incentitives to game..or work.
You can see how its easy to control people. Give people a reason to do what you want. Even if you are trying to make a person look bad.
Give them a reason that plays into their mind, to reveal.
King Solomon made two women think he was ruthless and would kill a baby in order to figured out which of his women were truly ruthless.


**Side bar
What is.. the same way China peace talks were started over ping bong.

North Korea peace talks were started over basketball.
We make fun of crazy Dennis Rodman so much for being friends with Kim.
The government does some stupid shit, but what if he was allowed to go to North Korea to instigate small peace talks that will later becomes large peace talks?