Steven D. Levitt

Stephen J. Dubner

The Freakonomics books have come to stand for challenging conventional wisdom; using data rather than emotion to answer questions. Now Levitt and Dubner have turned what they've learned into a readable and practical toolkit for thinking smarter, harder, and different - thinking, that is, like a Freak. Think Like a Freak offers rules like 'Put Your Moral Compass in Your Pocket,' 'The Upside of Quitting,' 'Just Because You're Great at Something Doesn't Mean You're Good at Everything,' and 'If You Have No Talent, Follow Levitt's Path to Success.' Praise for Freakonomics 'A phenomenon.' Observer 'Non-stop fun.' Evening Standard 'Brilliant . . . you'll be stimulated, provoked and entertained. Of how many books can that be said?' Sunday Telegraph 'Dazzling . . . a delight.' The Economist Praise for Superfreakonomics 'Page-turning, politically incorrect and ever-so-slightly intoxicating, like a large swig of tequila.' The Times 'You are guaranteed a good time.' Financial Times 'Mind-blowing.' Wall Street Journal 'Travels further than its predecessor . . . Levitt is a master at drawing counter-intuitive conclusions.' Sunday Times

Think Like a Freak

The New York Times bestselling Freakonomics changed the way we see the world, exposing the hidden side of just about everything. Then came SuperFreakonomics, a documentary film, an award-winning podcast, and more. Now, with Think Like a Freak, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have written their most revolutionary book yet. With their trademark blend of captivating storytelling and unconventional analysis, they take us inside their thought process and teach us all to think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally—to think, that is, like a Freak. Levitt and Dubner offer a blueprint for an entirely new way to solve problems, whether your interest lies in minor lifehacks or major global reforms. As always, no topic is off-limits. They range from business to philanthropy to sports to politics, all with the goal of retraining your brain. Along the way, you’ll learn the secrets of a Japanese hot-dog-eating champion, the reason an Australian doctor swallowed a batch of dangerous bacteria, and why Nigerian e-mail scammers make a point of saying they’re from Nigeria. Some of the steps toward thinking like a Freak: First, put away your moral compass—because it’s hard to see a problem clearly if you’ve already decided what to do about it. Learn to say “I don’t know”—for until you can admit what you don’t yet know, it’s virtually impossible to learn what you need to. Think like a child—because you’ll come up with better ideas and ask better questions. Take a master class in incentives—because for better or worse, incentives rule our world. Learn to persuade people who don’t want to be persuaded—because being right is rarely enough to carry the day. Learn to appreciate the upside of quitting—because you can’t solve tomorrow’s problem if you aren’t willing to abandon today’s dud. Levitt and Dubner plainly see the world like no one else. Now you can too. Never before have such iconoclastic thinkers been so revealing—and so much fun to read.

The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain

Alfredo santos

Fun and a very fast read. Doesn't actually teach you much of the advertised but has some interesting stories and different and new views on certain subjects.

Now in Paperback—the New York Times bestseller—and follow up to the revolutionary bestsellers Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics—with a new author Q&A. With their trademark blend of captivating storytelling and unconventional analysis, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner take us inside their thought process and teach us all how to think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally. In Think Like A Freak, they offer a blueprint for an entirely new way to solve problems, whether your interest lies in minor lifehacks or major global reforms. The topics range from business to philanthropy to sports to politics, all with the goal of retraining your brain. Along the way, you’ll learn the secrets of a Japanese hot-dog-eating champion, the reason an Australian doctor swallowed a batch of dangerous bacteria, and why Nigerian e-mail scammers make a point of saying they’re from Nigeria. Levitt and Dubner plainly see the world like no one else. Now you can too. Never before have such iconoclastic thinkers been so revealing—and so much fun to read.

Omar

Excellent book about how to escape some of the common pitfalls that hinder us from coming up with new solutions to problems, thinking differently. Really enjoyed the book. A few quotes of interest: 

* A growing body of research suggests that even the smartest people tend to seek out evidence that confirms what they already think, rather than new information that would give them a more robust view of reality.

* Every time we pretend to know something, we are doing the same: protecting our own reputation rather than promoting the collective good.

* On poorly designed incentives: “[T]he best way to increase wolves in America, rabbits in Australia, and snakes in India is to pay a bounty on their scalps. Then every patriot goes to raising them.”

* So if you want your argument to be truly persuasive, it’s a good idea to acknowledge not only the known flaws but the potential for unintended consequences.

Yoomi

A fun read but nothing that new or earth shattering.

Jeni Enjaian

I usually love Freakonomics books. After all, I devour their podcast and have read two of their other books. This book however, is just a compilation of loosely associated regurgitated blog posts from a blog that I do not read. The topics that they cover in the blog posts and thus in this book, they have also covered on the podcast and have even referenced the specific blog post that they reprint in this book. I read through it quickly because I found it on my list. If you listen to their podcast, skip this particular book.

Vijayasarathy Muthu

Read if you want to be a Freak!

These guys are awesome. It pushes the limits of thinking and opens a new windows to think about. Good read.

Adam

Not as good as their first two books. Maybe after listening to their podcast since episode 1, I had too high a bar set for it. Still funny and amusing though.

Timeo Williams

A. D. Knapp

Bruno Costa Teixeira

Cristi Marian

Jeff Borton

From the rule-breaking authors of international bestsellers Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics, this is the ultimate guide to how to Think Like a Freak The Freakonomics books have come to stand for something: challenging conventional wisdom; using data rather than emotion to answer questions; and learning to unravel the world's secret codes. Now Levitt and Dubner have gathered up what they have learned and turned it into a readable and practical toolkit for thinking differently - thinking, that is, like a Freak. Whether you are interested in the best way to improve your odds in penalty kicks, or in major global reforms, here is a blueprint for an entirely new way to solve problems. Along the way, you'll learn how the techniques of a Japanese hot-dog-eating champion can help you, the reason an Australian doctor swallowed a batch of dangerous bacteria, why Nigerian e-mail scammers make a point of saying they're from Nigeria, and why Van Halen's demanding tour contract banning brown M&Ms was really a safety measure. You'll learn why sometimes it's best to put away your moral compass, and smarter to think like a child. You will be given a master class in incentives-because for better or worse, incentives rule our world. And you will learn to quit before you fail, because you can't solve tomorrow's problem if you aren't willing to abandon today's dud. Levitt and Dubner see the world like no one else. Now you can too. Never before have such iconoclastic thinkers been so revealing - and so much fun to read.

Secrets of the Rogue Economist

Frederik Creemers

Jayme Cochrane

Ricardo

Yan Aung

Madeline Adams

Bouke van der Bijl

The Freakonomics books have come to stand for something: challenging the conventional wisdom; using data rather than emotion to answer questions; and learning to think differently about how the world works. Now Levitt and Dubner have gathered up what they have learned and turned it into a readable and practical toolkit for thinking smarter, harder and different - thinking, that is, like a Freak. Think Like a Freak offers a philosophy and a methodology, with rules like 'Put Your Moral Compass in Your Pocket,' 'Embrace Your Ignorance,' 'The Upside of Quitting,' 'Think Like a Child', 'Like a Bad Dye Job, The Truth is in the Roots' and 'How to win a fight, Freakonomics-style'. Thinking like a Freak comes in handy for everything from making oodles of money to wiping out diseases to getting your kids to visit you in the nursing home when you're old. This book shows how anyone can do it.

Beau

Lord Aragorn

Think Like a Freak by Steven D. Levitt has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

Think Like a Freak

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