My mini-synopsis: Freakonomics is a great book! I loved every minute of it. I have always considered myself to be a bit of an economist because I make all of my personal decisions based on what will ultimately end in a greater amount of “happy points” (how I quantify joy) for all people involved. This book took that obsession to a whole different level. They go into different correlations that they have found and explain why they believe that the correlations may also be causations. Most notably, they explain why they believe the legalization of abortion decreased the crime rate… yeah, they went there. They talk a lot about how they quantify things that are typically seen as unquantifiable (happy points, anyone?) and then use that to answer questions that have always been seen as rhetorical.
What I learned: Whether you agree with all of their findings or not, the way that they tackle the questions they have is admirable. The biggest learning point I got from this book is a completely different outlook on answering questions. Instead of assuming something doesn’t have an answer, get creative and get as close as you can. Additionally, the confidence they had in their findings is something worth respecting. If you have done the work and you believe the outcome, trust the work that you have done. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t accept new evidence or look into new potential options, but don’t discount your work until you have a reason to. Overall, this book pushed me to think more like an economist (dare I say freakonomist?) and I believe the thought process used by these authors will come in handy in business decisions as well.
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