Fun with Economics

by Dawn Brushammar

I hate economics with a passion. But I thoroughly enjoyed a book by an economist about economics. Sort of. The subtitle of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explains It All aptly describes Steven D. Levitt. He is an economist, but he uses his economic lens to look at things that readers never thought about quantifying before. Along with his co-author, Stephen J. Dubner, he takes us on a ride through our society like no other.

I'll admit that I first chose the book for two very unscholarly reasons. (Shhhh...don't tell my librarian ex-colleagues!) I like the way the title sounds. Freakonomics. Freeeeeakonomics. It rolls of the tongue very nicely in response to "Read any good books lately?" That, and the very cool cover art depicting a green apple with the insides of an orange, and I was sold. I admit to judging a book by its cover this time around.

That hybrid fruit on the cover represents what the book does best: comparing apples to oranges. In its pages, seemingly unrelated things such as teachers and sumo wrestlers and Roe vs. Wade and crime levels are brought together through economic theory. I know now why drug dealers live with their mothers and why the language of real estate agents can be compared to that of the Ku Klux Klan. My favorite chapter, however, was about choosing names. Many of my friends are currently starting or expanding their families, and should read Freakonomics just for that particular chapter.

Freakonomics gives us a fresh look at the world around us, and puts it in numbers. Remember your old Economics textbook from college? This is the polar opposite. A fun read that you can't put down. It provokes deep analytical thought as well as hysterics, and will definitely teach you several new things. So, buy it for the title and the cover, keep it for the content.