At first we were not going to read and review Superfreakonomics. Since we had already written a review on Freakonomics and we knew this follow up book was in the same vein, we didn’t think there would be much to add.
What changed our mind was the overwhelming response to their chapter on climate change. We figured that with that much outrage at what they said, they must have done something right. So yours truly bought the book, read it, and is quite happy he did. Having said all this – and possibly piqued your curiosity – we will not delve into the climate change chapter here. You can read some of the outrage at it here, here and here, and you can read a brief response by the Steves right here. We do, however, recommend you read this chapter before making judgments, as it is quite enthralling.
We will only say that this book does, in fact, continue in the same vein as Freakonomics, and it doesn’t cease to entertain. From debunking the Ultimatum game (every behavioral economist’s favorite game), to the story of Kitty Genovese, to showing why monkeys seem to be loss-averse (and documenting the first ever case of monkey prostitution).
Of course, those of you who have read Nudge, follow Tyler Cowen’s blog, or read anything by Dan Ariely will be familiar with these alternative uses of economic principles. In fact, some of the tidbits (such as the section on organ donors) overlap directly. As always, we don’t recommend you read through the book, take everything at face value, and retain bits and pieces just to impress your friends. We do, however, recommend you study what they write, be skeptical, and enjoy new ways of observing occurrences, seeing if you can apply their methods to discover new facts in your own lives.
Also, we keep admiring Nathan Myhrvold more and more.
You can buy the book here.
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