Freaky Questions

A Book Review


Title:
Freakonomics

Author:
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Life is a big question mark indeed. Anywhere you go, you'd find yourself asking "Why this? Why that? How so?" and so on. Some questions are downright serious, and some questions are downright silly. Sometimes the answers to these questions are so obvious. And sometimes, if not most of the times, the answers lies lurking behind the shadows. And many times, the answers, when found, cast shadows of doubts that give birth to more questions.

In any case, you are now probably asking "What does questions got to do with a book review?" Ah, dear friend, this book is about questions. At least, that's what the authors (and I'm betting the marketer geniuses behind the book) is putting in the forefront of this book. What kind of questions? In a glance, silly ones. I mean, just take a look at one of the questions: "What do teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?" If you're already interested about the book by reading the previous sentence, then you know what I mean by 'those marketer geniuses'.

However, questions are no good if there are no answers. And the answers that the authors put forth in this book will prove that these questions are actually not that silly. Steven D. Levitt, one of the author of this book and Stephen J. Dubner, a journalist who once wrote an article on Levitt, answers these seemingly silly questions based on one of the basic principles of economics: incentive. In other words, their main argument is that people are willing to do something, or rather, behave the way they do if there's something in it for them.

The authors will describe the answers to these questions one by one by using many statistical explanations. But fear not, those who are bewildered by numbers and calculations: these explanations are not technical. They are presented in a way that can be understood by casual readers. Those trying to find in-depth economy lessons in this book might be a little disappointed, but I personally believe that people should go to the basics from time to time. And that's exactly the point of this book: back to basics. And the basic, once again, is about incentive. And on that note, those who have casual or a serious interest in behavioral science might also be interested in this book because it's also mostly about people and why they do what they do. One thing that should also be noted is that 'incentive' in this book is brought not only in monetary context but also in non-monetary context.

Some of the facts or findings that are presented in this book can be quite bewildering and surprising. Indeed, the explanation offered by Levitt concerning the drop in crime rate invited many contradictions, criticism and disagreement from many people. And some would-be parents might also want to read the section concerning whether parents actually have influence over what their children would be one day. But that's part of what make this book an interesting read.

It is such a shame that this book is a tad short. I have the extended version, with bonus materials such as previous articles written by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt, selected blog entries, etc. However, whatever is written in these bonus materials have been summed up, or even explained in greater details, in the main section of the book. This fact makes the bonus materials a little unnecessary, save for some of the articles. As for the blog entries, in the age where people could access the internet easily, this too also feels a bit unnecessary. I would also have to agree with other reviewers that this book has no unifying theme. However, I would like to venture further by saying that it is not that the book has no unifying theme, it is just that the way the authors presented the materials make it seem as if there's no unifying theme. But observant reader should know that this book is all about incentive.

I have to say that this book is a casual read, and very interesting. And, as I have said earlier in this book review, answers can give birth to more questions. Like, is there a new book coming out from Levitt and Dubner? Maybe so, if there's a good enough incentive for them to do so.