You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
moseslh 's review for:
Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain
by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
I read the first two Freakonomics books around 8 years ago, and Freakonomics Radio is one of my favorite podcasts, so when I saw this on a library shelf I decided to check it out. Like its predecessors, this book presents a creative style of problem-solving that often runs counter to our intuitions yet produces positive results.
The distinctive perspective the authors bring as economists, while useful, does have its blind spots. They portray morality as something that should be pushed aside for policymaking purposes, failing to recognize that the goals of the policies they recommend are derived from their own particular moral frameworks. This results in some conclusions that I find questionable, such as an endorsement of racial profiling for terrorists and a celebration of quitting that ignores the societal value of following through on commitments. The authors also have a certain kind of arrogance common among economists, where they think of their conclusions as being objectively right because they were reached scientifically and dismiss those who disagree as irrational.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading this and I think Levitt and Dubner provide a valuable perspective on solving problems and identifying solutions.
The distinctive perspective the authors bring as economists, while useful, does have its blind spots. They portray morality as something that should be pushed aside for policymaking purposes, failing to recognize that the goals of the policies they recommend are derived from their own particular moral frameworks. This results in some conclusions that I find questionable, such as an endorsement of racial profiling for terrorists and a celebration of quitting that ignores the societal value of following through on commitments. The authors also have a certain kind of arrogance common among economists, where they think of their conclusions as being objectively right because they were reached scientifically and dismiss those who disagree as irrational.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading this and I think Levitt and Dubner provide a valuable perspective on solving problems and identifying solutions.