Book 5 - SuperFreakonomics

January 8, 2010 ~ Earlier this week, a friend lent me SuperFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Steven J. Dubner, which I had been meaning to check out of the library. Freakonomics was an entertaining and sometimes enlightening read so expected I would like this book as well. I did. It is a tad "freakier" than the first. While "Freak" discusses cheating teachers and sumo wrestlers and why drug dealers live with their mama, "Superfreak" reveals the "answers" to these questions and more...

• How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
• Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?
• Why should suicide bombers buy life insurance?
  
• Did TV cause a rise in crime?
• Can eating kangaroo save the planet?

SuperFreakonimics at Amazon.com

While I am not sure I agree with all the conclusions, I applaud the authors' perspectives and the way they encourage the reader to think critically. You don't have to agree with everything in the book to enjoy the snappy prose and wacky-sounding theories. I can possibly see 80-90% of this book being "correct", including the dumbing-down of American teachers over the decades (as a teacher, I hate to agree). Personally, I take issue with the car seat conclusion and suggestions to "tame" hurricanes. I'm not sure the research valid but again, this is not a doctoral thesis, it is a book meant to entertain and stimulate the mind - which it does. 4 of 5 stars, I liked it (some parts not so much, but in general I liked it). I have a bit more to go but should finish it tonight.