Tag: freakonomics

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Education Reading

Latest read: Think Like a Freak

I have been a big fan of Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. They are about to release a new book Think Life a Freak on May 18th.  Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics are well known best sellers. They have an amazing ability to tell stories with data.

think like a freak

Telling stories with data has impacted other books that I have chosen to read including Gladwell’s What the Dog Saw, Mark Penn’s Microtrends and Tom Davenport’s Competing on Analytics.

After Freakonomics I was pleased to see Levitt and Dubner make a movie with new stories that focused on the hidden side of everything.

And I found the movie very enjoyable. A few of the stories out of their original book while a new story focused on Chicago, their hometown.

The segment, paying high school students $500 for good grades simply brought out the ‘freak’ side of their research. At the same time I have wondered about how the impact of paying students in middle school may have a bigger impact on success rates.

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Design Education Globalization

Superbowl Freakonomics

Is the Superbowl commercial price points of $3.5million for a 30 second commercial really worth it?
superbowl freakonomicsThe NFL, NBC and every Ad/PR firm on the face of the world is saying yes for all the reasons wall street loved credit default swaps: Loads and loads of CA$H! Life must be great on Madison Avenue.

But consider this: would a public auction of commerical time before, during and after be more accurate? Steven Dubner from Freakonomics fame takes a deeper look.

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Education Globalization Innovation Reading Technology

SuperFreakonomics’ Authors on GeoEnginnering

University of Chicago Economics Professor Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner about Geoengineering Global Warming Fixes.  Their data about innovation planning shows how important creative thinking can be in addressing global problems.  From their followup best seller Freakonomics called SuperFreakonomics:

I really enjoyed what Levitt and Dubner’s research revealed in both books, it was very enjoyable reading.  Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (my review) and their recent followup SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance (my review) are two can’t miss books!

Tags: SUPERFreakonomics, Stephen Dubner, Steven Levitt, Economics, datasets, innovation, energy, population, poverty, technology, Sudir Venkatesh, terrorist, trends

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Design Education Globalization Innovation Reading Technology

Latest read: What the Dog Saw

I have been a fan of Malcolm Gladwell’s writing.  Joining The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking and Outliers: The Story of Success comes his latest work What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures which is a collection of his writings with the New Yorker.  I have enjoyed all of his books and this new release is no exception.

And to prove life again is all about timing the NYTimes has it’s book review hitting tomorrow’s Sunday paper.  The book’s title is from his writing about Cesar Millan, the noted animal trainer with the hit cable show The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan.

Gladwell breaks the book into three parts: Minor Geniuses, Theories – or ways of organizing experience and Predictions we make about people.  From these points Gladwell shares those articles that have stuck with him long after the New Yorker articles were published.

I was pretty amused in reading What the Dog Saw right after finishing SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance

To say the data and stories by Gladwell and Dubner & Levitt may overlap, it was nevertheless a lesson in looking beyond the regular story to take the opportunity to learn hidden lessons.

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Education Globalization Reading Technology

Latest read: Microtrends

A political pollster finally meets The Tipping Point.  That is how I would describe Mark Penn’s Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes.

microtrends

Penn’s 75 microtrend stories are interesting, but I could not help but think back to Gladwell’s book when reading each microtrend that lasts only two or three pages.

I do believe he is accurate in identifying societal atoms, small trends that are reflecting the changing habit and choices in our consumer marketplace and access to the internet. This work also reminds me of Freakonomics.

This book will make you think about the microtrends but you may feel overwhelmed by the number and come up short on analysis.

Book Website: with downloadable chapter