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Economics Search Economics EconomicsSuperfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
Allen Lane Search Allen Lane by Steven D. Levitt Stephen J. Dubner Search Steven D. Levitt Stephen J. Dubner
Customer Reviews:
Mind (Opening) / Blowing insights into Our World.
What a book! Not since 'Gut Feelings' a couple of years ago, have I read such an enthralling book. I could'nt put it down once I had started it. It is so well written with a background of humour for such serious subjects. I really enjoyed the deeper thinking and realistic approach to the disputed Global Warming problem - so refreshing from the 'Goresqe' panic outlook.
I will never forget the conclusion of one of the chapters in the book - "Friends never let friends walk home drunk"!
Fun stuff if you keep off climate but not as good as the original 
The [non-] climate change stuff is rather silly and presumably designed cynically to appeal to a redneck US audience (one can imagine the publisher suggesting this!). A bit like arguing that lung cancer is not CERTAINLY due to smoking a few years back.
But this is only one (largish) chapter - there is a good deal else to enjoy, for example the studies on child seats for cars (less effective than you think!). And there is some serendipitous interest in the climate chapter - as a (sadly uncritical) study of a bunch of wild thinkers who offer ill-informed thoughts on how to change the world! Now if the authors had applied 'Freakonomics' analysis to these guys (or indeed to Geoengineering in general) instead of gulping up everything they said that might have been interesting!
All the same you should certainly buy the original 'Freakonomics' rather than this if you are buying only one; but if you have enjoyed the first book this one may just be worth the Amazon price! Do not buy no. 3, though!
Not economics! Simple, brilliant, and sometimes scary... fizzes more than kicks! 
There is a helpful passage at the start of the epilogue explaining that macroeconomics is "concerned with issues like inflation, recessions and financial shocks..." whereas microeconomists are seeking to understand the choices individuals make..." I am concerned about all this because this appears to me to be case of economists applying their analytical skill to social statistics and has nothing to do with supply and demand or other factors affecting markets that are typically associated with economics. For example, how do you measure the individual performance of doctors in a fair manner? Or how can bank activity help identify potential terrorists? Yes, much of this is about human nature, which is no doubt why it is so interesting to us humans! It would seem this overlapping area of statistics, sociology and psychology has been invaded by economists!
Not that this matters, provided the work reveals the inner workings of human nature - especially the interesting bits, like how do you tell if a doctor is good or bad, or how do you spot a terrorist?
The style is very punchy, like a lawyer delivering his case in a TV drama... let me tell you this amazing fact, and now let me amaze you with this.... (One of the duet of authors describes himself as an "author and journalist.") On the surface everything appears very authoritative, and much of it is based on measurement, but if you pause, it is also possible to see much of what is presented is speculation. Like the theories on how it would be possible to prevent hurricanes forming, or how to reverse global warming. However intelligent and well modeled, they remain theories.
The authors are unashamed about going for snappy titles too - Patriotic Prostitutes explains how part-time prostitutes enter the market when demand peaks around public holidays (ah ha, supply and demand!) but that makes them opportunistic, not patriotic!
They are also content to behave like magpies, picking up nuggets of research; my favourite is the work done by a certain Ericsson, Professor of Psychology, who found little to link performance with 'raw talent,' instead believing exceptional performance requires a lot of time perfecting it, or more precisely: "deliberate practice" meaning "setting specific goals; obtaining immediate feedback; and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome." Useful stuff to know, and worth publicising. Unfortunately not all the amazing things in this book are as valuable. The manner is uplifting, almost evangelical, but at the end my feeling was mostly flat.
The controversial part is of course the cheap and cheerful proposal to halt global warming - by pumping sulfur into the atmosphere to mimic a volcanic eruption, which past records show has the desired effect of reducing global temperatures! Is this the scary thought? Or is it how environmentalists, such as Al Gore, have poo-pooed the idea? Is it logic which tells us we must reduce our carbon emissions when another possibility exists, or do we have some inbuilt need to beat ourselves up!
Whatever the science is called, human nature will always be of interest. The controversy no doubt helps fuel the buzz, and it is the buzz which will make people reach for this book. It will illuminate, fascinate and ultimately disappoint!
Witty and insightful
For those who enjoy finding a new take on modern life, this book is the book to read.
The authors delight in looking at the statistics and economics behind our lives and coming up with novel and suprising findings. For example, there are some interesting ways in which potential terrorists could be identified before they commit their crimes, simply by analysing their bank account activity. Apparently this information is so sensitive that the authors take us so far and then no further (presumably in case terrorists read the book and learn to adapt their behaviour!).
Or there is a fascinating discussion on whether to submit to chemotherapy if you get cancer. It seems that the drug companies are in cahoots with the medical profession to encourage you to take expensive treatments, even when the effects may only be a lot of pain and discomfort, even if a month or two is added to your lifespan (I think I knew that already!).
The discussion about prostitution is interesting in that the authors have found a market where there are benefits in charging your customers increasing amounts of money, to the benefit of both of you. The high class call girl and her client's lives just get better and better, the higher the fees.
This is an interesting book, the sort of thing that's engrossing on a long train journey, but perhaps not the sort of thing to commit several days of your life to. It certainly makes one question many common assumptions and I suppose its lessons could be applied to many other situation.
I'll give it four stars - witty and amusing, but perhaps not a "must-read".
Difficult Second Album? 
I enjoyed the first book, and thought the second would be more of the same. Given the four year gap, I thought the authors would have had plenty of time to come up with original and entertaining ideas, but this sequel appears laboured and disjointed. The previous book was full of short snappy chapters which gave the narrative pace, something which this book lacks. It is still an entertaining read, and if you enjoy the popular science genre it is worth skipping through. It is a lazy followup but buy it if you must. I'm sure many people will do just that!
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