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bobkat 's review for:
Superfreakonomics CD: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
Listening to the audiobook, read by Dubner. The introduction was charming, and I'm keen to see how they tie each mini-study to their newfound theme (incentives can make behavior seem illogical). But their first little assertion, that drunk walking is more deadly (for the drinker anyway) than drunk driving, relies on a completely invented assumption -- that the same proportion of walking distance is covered drunk as is driving distance (and I'm curious to look up the source of that proportion, as well, because it strikes me as incredibly difficult to measure). No justification is offered for this assertion, nor is its potential variance addressed, even though the value of this variable could completely reverse their "findings." To me, this negates the authors' argument that economics is true to the numbers and not a field where you can lie with statistics. Riiiight.
So I listen on with a slightly soured, cautious attitude. Levitt and Dubner are quick to assure me, though, that the book is not trying to state anything as fact, but merely open a conversation -- they HOPE I will catch errors or otherwise doubt their methods; this means they've done their job. Well, I guess you win this round, Freakonomists, but now I'm not enjoying your book as much as I did the first one. It's not that fun to read something that comes with equal parts disclaimers and substance.
So I listen on with a slightly soured, cautious attitude. Levitt and Dubner are quick to assure me, though, that the book is not trying to state anything as fact, but merely open a conversation -- they HOPE I will catch errors or otherwise doubt their methods; this means they've done their job. Well, I guess you win this round, Freakonomists, but now I'm not enjoying your book as much as I did the first one. It's not that fun to read something that comes with equal parts disclaimers and substance.