SuperFreakonomics

These guys are really truthful at their promise stated in the introduction, they really address the topics in search of truth, without fear nor favoring any position, even if this means being bold and politically incorrect with an honesty rarely since these days. As they explain, "...the economic approach isn't meant to describe the world as any one of us might want it to be, or fear that it is, or pray that it becomes - but rather to explain what it actually is."They indeed let the numbers speak, to the point that this sequel has a couple of chapters that will end up annoying both the religious conservatives and the dogmatic environmentalists. The former might be quite offended by the chapter explaining the economics of prostitution, and the latter by the rational and common sense criticism of climate change as presented by the religious-like advocates, including Al Gore.The analysis of prostitution from the point of view of microeconomics is quite humorous and cleverly avoids vulgarity, and you will be surprised to know the reasons for today's lower prices for the "tricks" as compared to the market in the early 1900s. The final chapter even documents the first scientifically documented case of monkey prostitution. Nevertheless, along these "irrelevant" discussions, Levitt and Dubner managed to intertwine several interesting findings, such as the real reason for women's lower earnings as compared to men with similar education.In regard to their harsh criticism to global warming presented in Chapter 5, do not be confused, they are not "deniers" or "skepticals" in the pejorative sense. They are against the radical religious-like advocates, who are oversimplifying the complexity of climate science and exaggerating the consequences under the prevailing imprecision inherent to climate science, and proposing solutions that will have significant global economic impacts. In particular, Levitt and Dubner are very critical of climate models. They sarcastically assert that as compared to the most sophisticated climate models, "...the risk models used by modern financial institutions seem quite reliable - but, as recent banking meltdowns have shown, that isn't always the case." (see page 168).After discussing the limitations of climate models, they present quite a case for low-cost geoengineering solutions to avoid the catastrophic consequences of global warming, if they will ever materialized, and thus avoiding the sacrifices and life style changes that are being expected from citizens of developed countries under the current proposed global warming solutions, and also without hindering the improvement of living conditions of citizens of developing countries. Quite a bold and politically incorrect chapter! You really have to read this chapter with an open mind to judge the merit of the arguments and the freaky solutions presented. I believe this chapter alone justifies reading the book, and makes this follow-up quite a good sequel.PS: As expected, Levitt and Dubner have been ferociously attacked in the blog sphere by the usual climate change advocates, with smear attacks included. See the Freakonomics blog at the NYT for the authors rebuttal and clarifications. And the climate bunch wonder why they are being compared with a religion.

2 words that describe the book'Freaky Economics (Duh!)3 characters I met* Nathan Myhrvold, a former Microsoft executive, is one of the co-founders of Intellectual Ventures (IV)--an invention company that has come up with a variety of creative and affordable fixes for a variety of problems, ranging from hurricanes (they could literally stop them!) and global warming. It boggled my mind that a group of people like those found at IV exist--and they've found solutions for huge problems that are available RIGHT NOW! Learning about why these solutions are not being implemented was fascinating as well as a bit upsetting.* Allie--a self-made woman who runs her own profitable business, which just happens to be as a $300 an hour prostitute. We meet Allie in the chapter on the economics of prostitution, which explains (among other things) why oral sex got so cheap. (During this particular chapter, you could be forgiven for thinking "Would being a prostitute really be such a bad job?" But, as you read on, you'll quickly be relieved of this idea.)* Keith Chen, an associate professor of economics at Yale, who attempted to find out "What would happen if I could teach a bunch of monkeys to use money?" What he finds is fascinating--and allowed Chen to have the distinction of seeing the "first instance of monkey prostitution in the recorded history of science." I TOLD you this book was about freaky economics!4 things I liked or disliked about the book* I was a huge fan of the first Freakonomics book so when I saw there was a follow-up, I knew I had to read it. As with the first book, Superfreakonomics is packed with interesting information. However, I found it to be more scattered and less cohesive than the first book. At times, it was hard to remember that this book had anything at all to do with economics. It often felt more like a "check out the weird research this guy did!" Yet I'd still recommend it. As far as economics books go, you won't find many that are more accessible or engaging.* I liked how the topics ranged all over the place. Consider this partial list of topics covered in the book: the perils of walking drunk, prostitution, the male-female wage gap, the worst month to have a baby, the trickle down effects of September 11th, telling a good doctor from a bad one, how to postpone death, the Kitty Genovese murder, the roots of altruism, kidney donation in Iran, the Endangered Species Act, dead whales, the history of seatbelts, hurricanes, global warming, the Club versus LoJack, why hand washing matters, and (of course) monkey prostitution.* Although I liked the wide range of topics covered, this did result in a scattershot feeling. Lots of stuff is discussed, but the text jumps from one to the other so quickly that I had a hard time remembering what I was reading or had read. In fact, going back to write this review some months after reading this book, I kept thinking to myself "I don't really remember that. They talked about kidney donation in Iran? Oh yeah ... that was interesting. Kitty Genovese? Who was that? Oh...that's right. Now I remember." Yet, despite this flaw, it was still a fast and interesting read.* Of all the things I read about in this book, the one that made me crazy was that there are solutions for major problems that could be implemented RIGHT NOW but aren't due to a variety of political and economic reasons. I'm sure residents of Florida, Louisiana and other areas plagued by hurricanes would be quite interested in learning about the low-tech, low-cost technology that could potentially prevent hurricanes from forming and wreaking havoc.5 stars or less for my rating:I'm giving the book 4 stars. Just like the first Freakonomics book, this book was a fast-paced and interesting read. If you detest economics and couldn't imagine voluntarily reading a book about economics, I'm here to tell you should make an exception for this series. Although the book felt a bit scattered and less focused than the first book, I'd still recommend it. If you're a fan of accessible non-fiction, this book is a must read. And, if you have the misguided idea that non-fiction books are boring or dry, this book will change your mind. I mean, it talks about MONKEY PROSTITUTION!

A rare gem of book, revealing the secrets of the world, a timeless delightful delight

Excelente libro super recomendable!

La economía trata sobre la inflación, los tipos de interés y la bolsa. Superfreakonomics habla de prostitutas, traficantes de droga y luchadores de sumo fracasados. Han sido cuantro años buscando no solo las preguntas más difíciles, sino las más sorprendentes: ¿Es más peligroso conducir borracho o caminar borracho? ¿Por qué se receta la quimioterapia tan a menudo si es tan poco eficaz? ¿Puede un cambio de sexo elevar tu salario? Levitt y Dubner combinan una gran inteligencia con la capacidad para contar historias mejor que nadie, ya sea a la hora de buscar una solución al calentamiento global o explicar por qué el precio del sexo oral ha caído de manera tan radical. Al analizar cómo la gente responde a los incentivos, muestran el mundo tal cual es: bueno, malo, feo, y finalmente, superfreaky. Muchos han intentado imitar el éxito de Freakonomics, pero solo Superfreakonomics lo supera.

Personal Impact: Okay, so hear me out. I’m a 23 year old man, studying Games Design at University . Unnecessary info, BUT here comes the fun fact. This book has been the first ever book I’ve properly read as a young man and the first book I’ve ever finished. It’s safe to say that this book has gotten me into reading. I’ll be reading the other books in this series. Not only has it been great reading this book, but it has triggered my passion to learn and study harder in such a way that excites me. The future is literally what you make it!The Actual Book: Okay, sorry about that little story there. So now, the actual book. It’s absolutely brilliantly written. It manages to keep you hooked in by giving the reader such interesting information but in such a way that is slightly comical which just makes you smile. You will learn so much reading this one book and understand how the world works just that little bit more. If you’re interested in how humans and earth are impacted by economics and statistics then this is a must read. Go for it, you won’t be disappointed. I can’t wait to read the other books!

Amazon ottima come sempre, per quanto riguarda il testo non l'ho ancora letto ma do 5 stelle sulla fiducia visto il suo predecessore "Freakonomics"