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Education Innovation Reading

Preview: When to Rob a Bank

Could not think of a more focused book title: When to Rob a Bank from the Freakonomics dynamic duo of Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Looking forward to reading this book. I have never been disappointed in the research and economics of their stories. When to Rob a Bank marks the 10 year anniversary of their original bestseller Freakonomics.
when to rob a bankFrom their legendary initial release Freakonomics and their follow-up bestseller Superfreakonomics to their book Think Like a Freak and even to their highly anticipated movie. When to Rob a Bank should be a very enjoyable read and an opportunity to review some of their most striking stories.

And I must admit after living in Chicago the segment of the Chicago mother looking to inspire her son was a story I felt many around Chicagoland could understand to some degree.

Their approach to telling stories on their blog over the last ten years led them to some amazing stories …. and some that totally missed the mark.

A collection of their best blog posts has been compiled into When to Rob a Bank.

Categories
Design Education Innovation Reading

Think like a freak

think like a freakHow many options do soccer players have before a penalty kick?

Think like a Freak, out TODAY from Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner is really, really enjoyable. I would stop just about everything (In a perfect world) to read this cover to cover. More to come….

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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 Innovation Reading TED

Freakonomics the movie

The movie everyone should have been waiting to see….on your computer before at the cinemas.

In an unusual move Freakonomics the Movie is coming to iTunes first on September 3rd and then to a theater on October 1.
Since I read this book (review)

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

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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