ThinkLikeaFreak_TheAuthorsofFreakonomics.epub

Dedication For ELLEN, who has been there for everything, including the books. —SJD For my sister LINDA LEVITT JINES, whose creative genius amazed, amused, and inspired me. —SDL Contents Dedication 1. What Does It Mean to Think Like a Freak? An endless supply of fascinating questions . . . The pros and cons of breast- feeding, fracking, and virtual currencies . . . There is no magic Freakonomics tool . . . Easy problems evaporate; it is the hard ones that linger . . . How to win the World Cup . . . Private benefits vs. the greater good . . . Thinking with a different set of muscles . . . Are married people happy or do happy people marry? . . . Get famous by thinking just once or twice a week . . . Our disastrous meeting with the future prime minister. 2. The Three Hardest Words in the English Language Why is “I don’t know” so hard to say? . . . Sure, kids make up answers but why do we? . . . Who believes in the devil? . . . And who believes 9/11 was an inside job? . . . “Entrepreneurs of error” . . . Why measuring cause- and-effect is so hard . . . The folly of prediction . . . Are your predictions better than a dart-th......