Book 15 - SuperFreakonomics - Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men

Gang aft agley

- Robert Burns

I'm still desperately behind. I think I should be at book 21 by now. I don't really have any excuses, I've just been doing other stuff and not reading. I'm tired of making inaccurate predictions about when I'll be caught up, so I won't. I'm just going to keep plugging away, and hopefully I can catch up.

Book 15 - SuperFreakonomics - Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

In SuperFreakonomics economist Steven D. Levitt and writer Stephen J. Dubner follow up on the success of their 2005 bestseller Freakonomics, taking what at the surface might seem to be odd questions and applying principles of economics to explain the often surprising answers. In the first book they tackled such thorny questions as "What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common" or "Why do drug dealers live with their moms?" In SuperFreakonomics they continue their quirky microeconomic excursions with questions like "How is a street prostitute like a department store Santa?" and "Why should suicide bombers buy life insurance?" They also devote a chapter to cheap and elegant solutions, taking us to a think-tank led by a couple of ex-Microsoft chiefs, where they explore a number of seemingly viable solutions and surprisingly cheap solutions for global warming.

While Levitt is the economic genius behind these books, it is Dubner who makes this genius accessible. He has a clear writing style which presents Levitt's ideas effectively, and which avoids getting bogged down in numbers and statistics. Not to say that the numbers aren't there. Levitt backs up his numbers, and is careful to not mix cause and effect. That being said, you might not agree with every conclusion he makes. Still, it is fascinating the way he draws connections between seemingly unconnected things, and his ability to challenge conventional notions makes for a thought-provoking read.

Is this book for everyone? Probably not. Even with Dubner's clear prose, some people are still going to think there are too many tables and statistics to chew on. But if you are interested in the way economic incentives drive human behavior, this is an interesting read.