Superfreakonomics
Freakonomics was a worldwide sensation, selling more than four million copies in thirty-five languages and changing the way we look at the world.Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner return with Superfreakonomics, and fans and newcomers alike will find that the freakquel is even bolder, funnier, and more surprising than the first.SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything with such questions as:How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?Can eating kangaroo save the planet?Levitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling like no one else. By examining how people respond to incentives, they show the world for what it really is-good, bad, ugly, and, in the final analysis, super freaky. Freakonomics has been imitated many times over-but only now, with SuperFreakonomics, has it met its match.
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What Hacker News says
- Also, the Superfreakonomics chapter on that:
http://freakonomics.com/books/freakonomics/chapter-excerpts/...
- "Fooled By Randomness" by Taleb is one of my favourite books of all time! I found it really eye-opening.
I'm currently reading "Outliers" by Gladwell, and it's a great read! I'll probably try and pick up a copy of his "Tipping point" next.
Another good psychology/behaviour/economics book is "Freakonomics", and it's sequel "SuperFreakonomics". Both interesting reads. If you haven't read "Fooled by randomness" yet though I'd definitely recommend that first!
- If you haven't read SuperFreakonomics and you're interested in this comment, get a copy of the book: the first chapter is about how the "decline" of the education system is linked to rising professional opportunities for women.
It used to be that highly competent women often became teachers because that was the only thing available to them. Now women can be professors, work in business, etc.
Note: this is not an argument for restricting female choice or anything else. It's about diagnosing how one (good) thing can lead to unintended consequences.
- You should read the section of SuperFreakonomics devoted to him before dismissing him as a patent troll. If that book is to believed (and I'll take the word of Levitt and Dubner, distinguished authors who visited his lab, over that of Michael Arrington any day) he's a pretty swell guy.
- My favorite read in early 2009 was What Intelligence Tests Miss: The Psychology of Rational Thought by Keith Stanovich
http://www.amazon.com/What-Intelligence-Tests-Miss-Psycholog...
which is full of helpful information on developing the kind of cognition missed by IQ tests that constitutes rationality, very important information for parents, educators, and business leaders.
2009, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book On the Origin of Species, has been a banner year for new books on evolutionary biology. Some of my favorites include
Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne
http://www.amazon.com/Why-Evolution-True-Jerry-Coyne/dp/0670...
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins
http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Show-Earth-Evidence-Evolution...
and
Evolution: The First Four Billion Years edited by Michael Ruse and Joseph Travis.
http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-First-Four-Billion-Years/dp/...
All are full of up to date information about biology, which, as Thedosius Dobzhansky said, only makes sense in the light of evolution.
SuperFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
http://www.amazon.com/SuperFreakonomics-Cooling-Patriotic-Pr...
is enjoyable and thought-provoking, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, for all the usual reasons applying to collaborations by those two authors.
- I just finished a ton of great books, some that immediately come to mind:
The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris - Really made me think about life and the work I do
Tribes by Seth Godin - Love this book.
The Dip by Seth Godin - read it before, reread it again this year
Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina - really had to struggle to get past the beginning, was fantastic once I did
Find Your Great Work by Michael Bungary Stanier - I liked this one a lot, motivational
The Power of Less by Leo Babauta - no surprises here, I enjoyed the book, it reads like you would expect it to. Some new insights that aren't on the blog
Superfreakonomics by Stephen Levitt and Dubner
Blink, The Tipping Point and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (I liked The Tipping Point the best out of those 3)
Free by...Chris Anderson (?) I forget. Very interesting.
Team Up by Pete Mockaitis - Great read about accountability groups, subset of a mastermind group IMO.
Collapse by Jared Diamond - Very interesting looks at patterns in civilizations. Some people I spoke to get bored after a few examples, it is a little repetitive but I enjoy the parallels
My old faves are of course Gettings Things Done, 7 Habits, Greatest Salesman in The World, and How to Win Friends and Influence People.
More details here: http://sidsavara.com/personal-development/best-personal-deve...
I regularly (and will be posting a bunch in the next couple weeks) post reviews of books I read here: http://sidsavara.com/product-reviews
