THINK LIKE A FREAK By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner ( HarperCollins), 256 pages, $33.99 cloth. Rating: NNNN
The title of the bestselling freakonomists’ third book says it all. This one teaches you not just how to think outside the box, but how to think beyond geometry.
Basically, the rules are: don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” reconnect with the curiosity, perspective and honesty of your inner child and, despite all popular thought to the contrary, quitting is a good idea.
These freaks use a hot-dog-eating champion, the doctor who swallowed a petri dish full of bacteria to determine the cause of ulcers, and how legalizing abortion in the U.S. correlates with a drop in crime rates to illustrate how changing your linear thought process can lead to amazing results.
If all this sounds unorthodox, that’s the point. When you follow their line of reasoning, the genius and hilarity is in their adherence to Occam’s razor, the principle that the simplest answer is often the right one.
In one of their more surprising examples, the authors demonstrate that people are more generous when a charity asks for one solitary donation to prevent further solicitations. In fine freak form, the results are counterintuitive: people donated more often and asked for more updates from the organization when given this option.
Before the book ends with what seems the best advice anyone can give, the authors assess why educated people deny the serious impacts of climate change and how the fear of failure led to the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. Talk about a cautionary tale.
While this short expository book doesn’t offer the same antithetical comparisons as their earlier work, it isn’t without clever chapters like What Do King Solomon And David Lee Roth Have In Common?
Think Like A Freak is like a book of advice that makes you feel you know something no one else does.
cynthiam@nowtoronto.com | @CynthiaJMcQueen
