- A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Interesting Points:
- New York City murder rate in 1990, 2245, 2003, 596. Contribute to the drop of crimes in late 90's and early 2000's, Roe v. Wade.
- The single most important factor in preventing a postwar revival of KKK in the North, Stetson Kennedy, through Superman radio show.
- Words to avoid in a real estate ad: Fantastic, Spacious, !, Charming, Great Neighborhood.
- Listerine, invented in 19th cent. as surgical antiseptic, later sold as floor cleaner and a cure for gonorrhea. Since 1920s, it claimed to be a solution for bad breath.
- Parents, who you are is much more important to a kid than what you do for parenting. But this may be only true for school performance at younger age, not life time achievements.
A light and interesting read, and once again, data rips off common sense. The book is full of insigts, but no unifying theme. From my own experience as an once-upon-a-time PhD candidate, this is the early stage of a research, the most interesting part maybe, and the part that most people couldn't go beyond. The last part about naming and parenting is a little bit dragging and lost focus.
