Freakonomics

I got it for Christmas and just finished it today. The way Levitt debunked the conventional wisdom and the manner in which Dubner presented it was well worth the accolades the critics (and just about anyone I've ever had a conversation about the book with) have lavished it with.

There's no shortage on praise for the book so I'll suffice it to say that I give major credit to anyone willing to challenge the conventional wisdom, especially those able to do it with the grace Dubner and Levitt do.

It does, however, have its problems.

While the numbers rarely lie, they can be skewed or, in this case, overlooked, and as I read the book I couldn't help but wonder what, if any, statistics were passed over. The cost of abortions don't seem to play much of a role in "Where Have All the Criminals Gone?". The tandem seems to overlook that white people outnumber black people nationwide in "What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?" They seem to hold the internet on a pedestal in "How Is the Ku Klux Klan Like a Group of Real-Estate Agents?" yet fail to reason why the "Information Superhighway" is only so when you can make some extra cash.

But that's what the book was designed to do now wasn't it? Challenge the information spoon-fed to you, ask questions, look at things differently, and find answers.