Freakonomics (2005) Steven D Levitt & Stephen J Dubner
A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side of Everything
The conventional thinking is that economists are nerds who fancy numbers, statistics and balancing GDPs and expenditures. Now, we have come to realise that economics is more than statistics. Statistics are the greatest lies invented by mankind. It can be made to work for either side of the fence if you know how. The same numbers can be used to assert both sides of the argument if you know how. That is the reason for the frenzy of data in the 21st century. Information is knowledge.
The authors try to freak us out with numbers that baffle us with information that actually questions whether our supposedly scientific approach to solving our day to day problem is indeed appropriate. For a starter, they suggest that the reason for the reduction in crime in the 1990s is not because of great policing, increasing prisons or use of resources to curb crime but instead due to the legislation of allowing termination of pregnancy.
Morality represents the way we want the world to work, to create a utopia but economics is how it actually works. Business lies at the very intersection of morality and economics. People have always been assumed to have goodness in them. Even without expecting anything in return, they would do what is best for a fellow human being. But then, could anyone resist the temptation of evil if his acts would not be undetected. The numbers do not.
Capitalism thrives on the disparity of information. Information is a double-edged sword. It gives empowerment, but at the same time, it creates fear for uncertainty. We say one thing and do another. We associate truth with convenience, self-interest and personal wellbeing. We make promises best to avoid awkward situations or unwelcome dislocation of life.
How does the termination of pregnancy reduce crime? People who are least capable of being good or exemplary parents are the ones who have the most number of children. These children do not complete school, get into gangs and get in crimes. The world would be a better place without their existence.
Is it not interesting that parenting rules always change with time? Anyway, parenting has nothing to do with the outcome of the future of the child. The book also brings up many salient interesting points about naming children and that swimming pools kill more children than guns in the US. Are we going to ban swimming pools or increase security there?
A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side of Everything
The conventional thinking is that economists are nerds who fancy numbers, statistics and balancing GDPs and expenditures. Now, we have come to realise that economics is more than statistics. Statistics are the greatest lies invented by mankind. It can be made to work for either side of the fence if you know how. The same numbers can be used to assert both sides of the argument if you know how. That is the reason for the frenzy of data in the 21st century. Information is knowledge.The authors try to freak us out with numbers that baffle us with information that actually questions whether our supposedly scientific approach to solving our day to day problem is indeed appropriate. For a starter, they suggest that the reason for the reduction in crime in the 1990s is not because of great policing, increasing prisons or use of resources to curb crime but instead due to the legislation of allowing termination of pregnancy.
Morality represents the way we want the world to work, to create a utopia but economics is how it actually works. Business lies at the very intersection of morality and economics. People have always been assumed to have goodness in them. Even without expecting anything in return, they would do what is best for a fellow human being. But then, could anyone resist the temptation of evil if his acts would not be undetected. The numbers do not.
Capitalism thrives on the disparity of information. Information is a double-edged sword. It gives empowerment, but at the same time, it creates fear for uncertainty. We say one thing and do another. We associate truth with convenience, self-interest and personal wellbeing. We make promises best to avoid awkward situations or unwelcome dislocation of life.
How does the termination of pregnancy reduce crime? People who are least capable of being good or exemplary parents are the ones who have the most number of children. These children do not complete school, get into gangs and get in crimes. The world would be a better place without their existence.
Is it not interesting that parenting rules always change with time? Anyway, parenting has nothing to do with the outcome of the future of the child. The book also brings up many salient interesting points about naming children and that swimming pools kill more children than guns in the US. Are we going to ban swimming pools or increase security there?
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