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Learning is not limited to the classroom. Throughout my life I have enjoyed reading books. Fiction allows the mind to wander, unbound by terrestrial concerns. Reading non-fiction provides a fast paced, informative way to acquire diverse information in a wide range of subjects. I enjoy reading philosophy, history, and anything else that is well written. One book that recently caught my attention was Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. The book ingeniously combines pop culture with economics and provides an interesting avenue to understand why things happen as they do.
Using statistics, the authors note many interesting coincidences that they reduce to simple explanations. For instance, it is noted that high echelon sumo wrestlers tend to collude to remain at the top of their field. While impossible to discern from just watching an event, applying statistical analysis to their matches indicates that there is likely cheating going on. Other interesting things that are noted by the Levitt and Dubner are that since the legalization of abortion, there appears to be a reduction of crime in the United States. Furthermore, the authors delve into explorations of drug dealing, socioeconomics of naming children, and the effects of parenting on education.
This was a fascinating book that showed me that there were many ways to think about a subject. The truth is, that this was not strictly a work on economics but also a work on sociology. The multidisciplinary approach of the authors reinforced a belief in me that it is impossible to analyze economic situations divorced from the world at large. Furthermore, it also showed me that rigorous statistical analysis can reveal hidden information in data. Learning through extracurricular reading is one of my favorite pass times. I hope to enrich and be enriched by colleagues and faculties outside interests.
Using statistics, the authors note many interesting coincidences that they reduce to simple explanations. For instance, it is noted that high echelon sumo wrestlers tend to collude to remain at the top of their field. While impossible to discern from just watching an event, applying statistical analysis to their matches indicates that there is likely cheating going on. Other interesting things that are noted by the Levitt and Dubner are that since the legalization of abortion, there appears to be a reduction of crime in the United States. Furthermore, the authors delve into explorations of drug dealing, socioeconomics of naming children, and the effects of parenting on education.
This was a fascinating book that showed me that there were many ways to think about a subject. The truth is, that this was not strictly a work on economics but also a work on sociology. The multidisciplinary approach of the authors reinforced a belief in me that it is impossible to analyze economic situations divorced from the world at large. Furthermore, it also showed me that rigorous statistical analysis can reveal hidden information in data. Learning through extracurricular reading is one of my favorite pass times. I hope to enrich and be enriched by colleagues and faculties outside interests.