Think like a freak : the authors of Freakonomics offer to retrain your brain

Think like a freak The authors of Freakonomics offer to retrain your brain

Steven D. Levitt

eAudio - 2014

The New York Times bestselling Freakonomics changed the way we see the world, exposing the hidden side of just about everything. Then came SuperFreakonomics, a documentary film, an award-winning podcast, and more. Now, with Think Like a Freak, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have written their most revolutionary book yet. With their trademark blend of captivating storytelling and unconventional analysis, they take us inside their thought process and teach us all to think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally-to think, that is, like a Freak. Levitt and Dubner offer a blueprint for an entirely new way to solve problems, whether your interest lies in minor lifehacks or major global reforms. As always, no topic is off...-limits. They range from business to philanthropy to sports to politics, all with the goal of retraining your brain. Along the way, you'll learn the secrets of a Japanese hot-dog-eating champion, the reason an Australian doctor swallowed a batch of dangerous bacteria, and why Nigerian e-mail scammers make a point of saying they're from Nigeria. Some of the steps toward thinking like a Freak: First, put away your moral compass-because it's hard to see a problem clearly if you've already decided what to do about it. Learn to say "I don't know"-for until you can admit what you don't yet know, it's virtually impossible to learn what you need to. Think like a child-because you'll come up with better ideas and ask better questions. Take a master class in incentives-because for better or worse, incentives rule our world. Learn to persuade people who don't want to be persuaded-because being right is rarely enough to carry the day. Learn to appreciate the upside of quitting-because you can't solve tomorrow's problem if you aren't willing to abandon today's dud. Levitt and Dubner plainly see the world like no one else. Now you can too. Never before have such iconoclastic thinkers been so revealing-and so much fun to read. Also included, three bonus Freakonomics podcasts: Should Tipping Be Banned?, Women Are Not Men, and Save Me From Myself.

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Subjects
Problem solving.
Cognitive psychology.
Published
[United States] : HarperAudio 2014.
Language
English
Corporate Author
hoopla digital
Main Author
Steven D. Levitt (author)
Corporate Author
hoopla digital (-)
Other Authors
Stephen J. Dubner (author)
Edition
Unabridged
Online Access
Instantly available on hoopla.
Cover image
Physical Description
1 online resource (1 audio file (7hr., 06 min.)) : digital
Format
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
ISBN
9780062218384
Access
AVAILABLE FOR USE ONLY BY IOWA CITY AND RESIDENTS OF THE CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS OF JOHNSON COUNTY, UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, HILLS, AND LONE TREE (IA).
Contents unavailable.
Review by Choice Review

Levitt (economics, Univ. of Chicago) and journalist Dubner, authors of Freakonomics (CH, Nov'05, 43-1689), have written a book for readers and thinkers who are willing to train their brains to think fearlessly. With their trademark blend of storytelling and unconventional analysis, the authors include mini case histories of people whose major discoveries were initially ridiculed. Other information focuses on the surprising role of incentives in such contexts as toilet training, making charitable donations, and quitting jobs. Examples of people ranging from hot dog eating contestants to medical researchers provide insight into new, more productive ways of looking at problems. Readers who follow the guidelines in the book may find themselves admitting they do not know the answers to simple questions, but they will probably have a better understanding of why those questions are the wrong questions. The informal, conversational tone is backed by sound research described in the notes; readers might need to check the notes to determine whether a particular part contains new information or is from an earlier book. --Eileen G. Ferris, Goodwin College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

The bestselling bards of gonzo economics return with this new compendium of nifty, if occasionally shallow contrarian mind-warps. This time University of Chicago economist Levitt and journalist Dubner clothe their Freakonmics schtick in flimsy self-help garb by instructing readers on how to "think like a Freak": ignore conventional wisdom; focus on data; test theories with experiments; don't confuse correlation with causality (married people may be happier, they note, because no one wants to marry a grump); most of all, attend to the devious workings of callow self-interest that rule all things (a principle that comically backfires when one of them uses candy bribes to toilet-train his daughter). Levitt and Dubner apply these nostrums to problems having little to do with economics, including competitive hot dog-eating, why Nigerian con artists advertise themselves as Nigerian con artists, and the game-theoretical ploys of King Solomon and David Lee Roth. Their arguments are lucid, catchy, and sometimes dubious; their brief for the efficacy of medieval trial-by-ordeal is no more convincing than their hackneyed attack on Britain's national health system. The result is brief, blithe, but ill-digested provocations that stimulate controversy, but are too sketchy to settle it. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Review by Kirkus Book Review

Co-authors Levitt (Economics/Univ. of Chicago) and journalist Dubner (Super Freakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance, 2009, etc.) continue on their mission to get people to think in new ways in this lively book about decision and persuasion.Building on their first two books, the authors offer advice for dealing with "minor lifehacks or major global reforms." Most people, they argue, "seek out evidence that confirms what they already think, rather than new information that would give them a more robust view of reality." They urge openness to evidence that may seem obvious, counterintuitive or even childish. Children, they conclude, are much more likely than adults to focus on small, solvable problems rather than "intractable, hopelessly complex" issues. "Small questions are by their nature less often asked and investigated.They are virgin territory for true learning," they assert, and much more likely to inspire change. Nine fast-paced, story-filled chapters offer nuggets of useful advice: Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know." It's essential for learning. Reframe questions: "If you ask the wrong question, you are almost guaranteed to get the wrong answer." Stay alert to the real root cause of a problem; it may be far different from what people generally assume. Levitt and Dubner analyze the upsides and downsides of incentives and consider the insidious power of "herd thinking." Genial storytellers, the authors admit that much of their advice may seem like common sense (and, of course, they covered much of this territory already in their previous books), but they cite study after studyby psychologists, sociologists, educators and scientiststo show that sometimes common sense is severely underutilized.Upbeat and optimistic, Levitt and Dubner hope that by thinking "a bit differently, a bid harder, a bit more freely," readers will be able "to go out and right some wrong, to ease some burden." Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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